Judge Amy Coney Barrett is being applauded today after she confirmed that she responded to hours of grilling from the Senate Judiciary Committee without any notes.
During the second day of Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, she relied on her memory alone when it came to responding to the many questions that were being hurled at her, according to Fox News. This was revealed after hours of questioning, when Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) asked Barrett how she had prepared.
“You know most of us have multiple notebooks and notes and books and things like that in front of us,” Cornyn said. “Can you hold up what you’ve been referring to in answering our questions?”
“Is there anything on it?” the senator asked her.
With a smile, Barrett held up the notepad in front of her to show the world that it was completely blank.
“The letterhead that says ‘United States Senate,’” she said as she laughed.
“That’s impressive,” an astounded Cornyn said.
Senator Cornyn asks Amy Coney Barrett if she's been working from notes with her thoughtful and intelligent answers. Nope! pic.twitter.com/tKKoNzyYbI
— Scott Whitlock (@ScottJW) October 13, 2020
Many social media users were just as impressed as Cornyn was.
“It’s common to write down questions since Senators often ask 12 in a row and expect complete answers to all,” one Twitter user wrote, with another adding, “I am shooketh by how brilliant this woman is.”
Judge Barrett is using no notes. pic.twitter.com/zqZ6QGckOq
— Trish Turner (@caphilltrish) October 13, 2020
Barrett, 48, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the Supreme Court seat that was vacated last month by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She previously served as a law clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia from 1998 to 1999, and she has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 2017.
Barrett’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to continue on Wednesday and Thursday, with a committee vote on her nomination to take place next week. The Republican-majority Senate fully intends to have a vote on Barrett’s nomination before Election Day next month.
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