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Sen. Durbin asks Amy Coney Barrett about George Floyd: ‘I have two Black children, that was very, very personal for my family.’

WASHINGTON – Bringing it to the real world, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., plowed new ground at Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Tuesday when he asked the mother of two Black children about the impact of George Floyd’s death.

Barrett, guarded in her answers until this point, gave a candid reply.

In May, Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with a knee to his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked a new chapter of racial reckoning in the U.S.

Barrett told Durbin after Floyd died she discussed with daughter Vivian, who is Black, “that there would be a risk to her brother or the sons she might have one day, of, that kind of brutality.”

Democrats know they are powerless to block the confirmation of Barrett, who President Donald Trump tapped for the Chicago-based 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. Three years later, days after the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump nominated Barrett, the ideological opposite of Ginsburg, to fill her seat.

What Durbin has been doing at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings – and in a private call last week – is to talk to Barrett about the impact Supreme Court decisions have on real people, bringing up race, guns used for crimes in Chicago traced to Indiana and Mississippi, and the crucial need for health care coverage.

Barrett, a former Notre Dame Law School professor, is known for her conservatism. She shared with her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, her belief in originalism and textualism.

That is, she explained on Tuesday, interpreting the Constitution with the meaning the writers had when it was ratified and analyzing a statute using only the text.

Barrett mainly works and lives in South Bend,

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money

Blackburn shares altered photo of Whitehouse showing picture of George Soros and the caption ‘Dark Money’

Sen. Marsha Blackburn shared an altered photo of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse during Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Senate hearing, showing him holding a photo of billionaire George Soros underneath the caption “Dark Money.”

a person in a suit and tie reading a book

© Provided by Washington Examiner

“Here @SenWhitehouse, I fixed it for you,” Blackburn tweeted, accompanied by an altered photo from the hearing.

Here @SenWhitehouse, I fixed it for you. pic.twitter.com/cLKYsEwxFt

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 13, 2020

A doctored caption on the picture reads, “George Soros Is Funding Radical Left Activists.”

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Soros is a billionaire philanthropist with a history of donating to liberal causes and campaigns. He has long been criticized by Republicans for his donations, to which Soros responded last year, saying he’s “proud of the enemies I have.”

“Their objections to Mr. Soros, 89, stem from his backing of liberal causes and super PACs that opposed Mr. Trump and supported Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton, and his Open Society Foundation, which, funded by his billions, has supported democracy and human rights in some 120 countries, often opposing autocratic regimes,” the New York Times reported in 2019.

Blackburn’s tweet comes after Whitehouse displayed a presentation on “dark money’s” influence on the Supreme Court.

“In all cases, there’s big anonymous money behind various lanes of activity,” Whitehouse said Monday, holding up a sign showing the names of the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network.

“Eighty cases under Chief Justice Roberts that have these characteristics. One, they were decided 5-4, by a bare majority. Two, the 5-4 majority was partisan, in the sense that not one Democratic appointee joined the five. I refer to that group as the Roberts Five, it changes a little bit as with Justice Scalia’s death, for instance, but there has been a steady Roberts Five that has delivered now

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personal

Barrett ‘wept’ with her daughter after George Floyd death: ‘Very, very personal for my family’

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President TrumpDonald John TrumpTwo ethics groups call on House to begin impeachment inquiry against Barr Trump relishes return to large rallies following COVID-19 diagnosis McGrath: McConnell ‘can’t get it done’ on COVID-19 relief MORE’s Supreme Court nominee, told lawmakers on Tuesday that she “wept” with her family following the death of George Floyd earlier this year.

Sen. Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinDemocrats warn of ObamaCare threat from Barrett, Trump Democrats steer clear of Barrett’s religion during Supreme Court hearing Gloves come off in Barrett confirmation hearing MORE (D-Ill.) asked Barrett what “impact” viral footage of a former Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck had on her, as Democrats grilled the high court pick during a marathon hearing. Floyd’s death sparked fresh scrutiny of police tactics and renewed nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

“As you might imagine, given that I have two Black children, that was very, very personal for my family,” Barrett responded.

Floyd died after former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was detained in May. Protests that broke out after his death have called for widespread reforms on policing and inequality in the U.S.

Barrett told senators that her husband was camping with her sons when protests broke out across the country, saying she spoke with her daughters about the events in the wake of Floyd’s death.

“I was there, and my 17-year-old daughter Vivian, who’s adopted from Haiti, all of this was erupting. It was very difficult for her. We wept together in my room. It was also difficult for my daughter Juliet, who’s 10. I had to try to explain some of this to them,” Barrett said.

“My children to this point in their lives have had the benefit of

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personal

Amy Coney Barrett says she wept with daughter after George Floyd death

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Discussing her reaction to the George Floyd killing, Judge Amy Coney Barrett calls it an “obvious statement… that racism persists in our country.”

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Amy Coney Barrett said the death of George Floyd was “very personal” for her family, telling senators on Tuesday she “wept” with her 17-year-old daughter over the Minneapolis man’s death in May.

Barrett’s voice started to crack as she discussed the footage of a Minneapolis officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck and the ripple effect it had on her seven children, including the two she adopted from Haiti.

Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, had been asked whether she saw the video during her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.

In response to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Barrett described sitting with her teenage daughter, who is Black, and crying.

“As you might imagine, given that I have two Black children, that was very, very personal for my family,” Barrett said about the footage.

Floyd, a Black man, died after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes in May. The footage of his death sparked massive protests in cities across the U.S. and discussions about racism in America.

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Live coverage: Barrett defends her faith, says ‘rule of law’ would drive her judgment on Supreme Court

More: Amy Barrett’s law review articles show how Supreme Court rulings like Roe v. Wade could be challenged

Barrett said when the video was publicized her husband was camping with their sons and she was home with her 17-year-old daughter, who was born in Haiti.

“All of this was erupting. It was very difficult for her,” Barrett said. “We wept together in my room.”

She noted that her family has had continued discussions about racism and how

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personal

Amy Coney Barrett says George Floyd video was personal for family

WASHINGTON – Amy Coney Barrett said the death of George Floyd was “very personal” for her family, telling senators on Tuesday she “wept” with her 17-year-old daughter over the Minneapolis man’s death in May.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett asked about killing of George Floyd, racism in America

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a person standing in front of a mirror posing for the camera: Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

© Bonnie Cash, AP
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett listens during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.