Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a prominent figure in the Trump administration, has recently emerged victorious in a Supreme Court case, marking a significant win for the administration.
This comes after enduring months of criticism from conservatives. Barrett's judicial decisions had been a subject of speculation among conservatives, with some expressing disappointment and labeling her as a "DEI hire." However, her recent ruling in Trump v. CASA, which curtailed the use of nationwide injunctions by district court judges, has momentarily shifted the narrative from criticism to commendation.
According to the Daily Caller, President Trump lauded the decision as a "monumental victory for the Constitution," expressing his deep respect for Justice Barrett. "I just have great respect for her," he stated. "I always have. And her decision was brilliantly written today, from all accounts."
Despite this recent praise, Barrett has faced criticism from conservatives for siding with liberal justices on the emergency docket in several cases. Notably, she was part of the 5-4 majority that declined to block a lower court order compelling the Trump administration to disburse $2 billion in frozen United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds in March. This decision was seen by some conservatives as a betrayal, with commentator Jack Posobiec stating that Barrett's vote "propped up a globalist system conservatives have long despised."
However, Mike Davis, President of the Article III Project, acknowledged that he had been "pretty rough on Justice Barrett," but suggested that the criticism may have helped her refocus on her constitutionalist principles. "Ive always known that Justice Barrett was a constitutionalist," Davis told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "I never thought she was the next Sandra Day OConnor. While Barrett got weak and wobbly at times as justices do, she delivered strong victories for the Constitution."
Justice Barrett's influence has been instrumental in several major victories for the conservative legal movement, including the reversal of Roe v. Wade. She was also part of the majority that reversed Chevron deference, a decision that dealt a significant blow to the administrative state, and ended affirmative action in college admissions.
However, Barrett's judicial decisions have not always been met with approval from conservatives. Her ruling in Murthy v. Missouri during the 2023-2024 term, which found that states and individual plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the Biden administration's efforts to censor speech online, attracted disapproval. Former Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz expressed his disappointment, stating, "Even with conservative judges like Amy Coney Barrett, we cant expect any help from the Courts."
An analysis released on June 14 suggested that Barrett was "showing signs of a leftward drift." The study found that Barrett sided with the Biden administration 50% of the time in high-profile cases, compared to the other five conservative justices who did so only 33% of the time. In Trump-related litigation since her appointment in 2020, Barrett voted in his favor 59% of the time, the lowest percentage among the Republican-appointed justices.
However, JCN President Carrie Severino cautioned against jumping to conclusions based on a few cases. "If a judge is doing what theyre supposed to be doing, its not a matter of voting for or against a certain president," Severino said. "If theyre applying originalism and textualism, its about what the law or the Constitution says."
Barrett's recent CASA opinion not only delivered a victory for Trump but also served as a strong rebuke to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Legal commentator David Lat noted that Barrett took the "gloves off" in her response to Jackson, which is a departure from her typically restrained rhetoric.
Some attribute Barrett's approach to her background as a Notre Dame law professor. "Shes a clear and consistent originalist," Severino told the DCNF. "Shes very careful. You can see that she taught civil procedure because she cares a lot about the procedural issues."
In United States v. Skrmetti, where Barrett was among the six justices who voted to uphold Tennessees ban on child sex changes, she penned a separate concurrence explaining why transgender status does not deserve greater protection as a suspect class.
Notre Dame Law School professor Samuel Bray told NBC News her ruling in CASA should "reinforce the sense that shes her own justice and shes committed to giving legal answers to legal questions."
Michael A. Fragoso, who was chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee during Barretts confirmation process in 2020, wrote in March that then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell knew Republicans could not have filled the seat without her. "Without Amy Coney Barrett, whoever Biden would have put in that seat would have made Ruth Bader Ginsburg look like Robert Bork," Fragoso said in a Public Discourse essay defending Barrett.
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