MAGA world turns against Trump-appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett: The Trump-appointed justice has shifted the court to the right, but she has angered some in MAGA world by voting against some of President Donald Trump's priorities.
by Lawrence Hurley
NBC
March 6, 2025, 3:10 PM MST / Updated March 7, 2025, 1:33 PM MST
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... rcna194283
WASHINGTON — MAGA activists have turned against one of President Donald Trump's own appointees to the Supreme Court: Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Appointed by Trump in 2020, Barrett is a staunch conservative who has joined major rulings in which the court has moved U.S. law to the right, including on abortion and affirmative action.
But that's not enough for some of Trump's most aggressive supporters, who think the former Notre Dame Law School professor has been a disappointment. MAGA supporters see what some call an independent streak as a sign she isn't sufficiently aligned with or loyal to Trump.
"She is a rattled law professor with her head up her a--," said Mike Davis, who once clerked at the Supreme Court for Justice Neil Gorsuch and described Barrett as "weak and timid."
Barrett defenders have dismissed the attacks, scoffing at the idea that the justice’s conservatism is defined by how her decisions align with Trump and insisting Barrett won’t be affected by outside criticism. Barrett, reached via the Supreme Court, did not respond to a request for comment.
The anger from Davis and other right-wing personalities with large online followings stems mostly from a couple of recent high-profile, 5-4 decisions in which Barrett has been the deciding vote against Trump's side.
Swift and vicious reviews poured in from right-wing, Trump-allied figures this week when Barrett and other justices rejected a Trump administration attempt to avoid paying U.S. Agency for International Development contractors as ordered to by a federal judge.
"DEI judge," influencer Jack Posobiec posted on X, suggesting that Barrett was a "diversity, equity and inclusion" hire, presumably because she is a woman.
Trump at the time promised to pick a woman to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee," another far-right influencer, Laura Loomer, wrote.
Her X post featured a photo of Barrett's family. Barrett and her husband have seven children, including two they adopted from Haiti, who are Black.[/url]
Even Barrett's brief interaction with Trump earlier this week, when he delivered an address to Congress, has been scrutinized by the online MAGA set.
"Look at how Justice Amy Coney Barrett looks at our duly elected President, the man who put her on the Supreme Court. She looks very bitter," Rogan O'Handley, an influential MAGA figure on X known by his handle DC_Draino, wrote in a post containing a video of the encounter.
One law professor, Josh Blackman at South Texas College of Law Houston, suggested that Barrett should step down from her lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court so that Trump can pick a replacement.
The White House did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Barrett defenders have fought back, with Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who studied under Barrett, saying in an interview he doubted she would be affected by the negative reactions.
"She has the resolve to be on the court just like the other justices do," he said. The justices know that "unpopularity is not a measure of what a judge is doing," he added.
The conservative National Review also weighed in, posting a column Thursday titled “In Defense of Justice Amy Coney Barrett,” deriding the criticism as “nonsense.”
Barrett's USAID vote followed a decision in January when the court, once again split 5-4, rejected Trump's request to block a sentencing hearing in his criminal hush money case in New York. The decision prompted angry reactions from pro-Trump voices including Davis.
In both cases, Barrett joined fellow conservative Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority, aligned with the three liberal justices.
Even before those cases, Barrett has increasingly shown a willingness to separate herself from the right flank of the court with a considered and cautious approach.
What the online critics fail to address is that Barrett has consistently cast key votes in favor of conservative causes, including when the court overturned abortion rights landmark Roe v. Wade, ended affirmative action, expanded gun rights and undermined the power of federal agencies.
"It seems to me there is this impulse where personal loyalty to Donald Trump in an unquestioned way is seen as a requirement for a sitting justice on the Supreme Court. It doesn’t matter how conservative that person might be," said Anthony Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law.
The harsh criticism of Barrett comes amid a stream of similar and sometimes more violent rhetoric aimed at judges who have stymied Trump's agenda.
Roberts recently warned that threats of violence and intimidation against judges have been increasing in recent years.
Barrett has spoken previously about how her appointment to the Supreme Court — and the security concerns that go with it — has affected her and her family.
Like all justices, she has protection not just at the court but also at her home in Virginia.
At a judicial conference last year, she recalled one of her sons asking her why she owned a bulletproof vest.
Security of the justices was in the spotlight three years ago following the leak of an early draft of the abortion ruling. Then, it was activists on the left who were angered by the decision.
An armed man was arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and charged with attempted murder. Protesters also gathered outside several justices' homes, including Barrett's.
"After the attempted assassination of Justice Kavanaugh, we need to be vigilant about potential threats," Blackman said in an email.
But he stood by his criticism of Barrett, saying that some conservatives feel like they were misled about what kind of justice she would be.
"I think conservatives feel like there was a bait and switch," he added.
Lawrence Hurley is a senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News.
Amy Barrett is a rattled law professor w/her head up her Ass
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Amy Barrett is a rattled law professor w/her head up her Ass
by admin » Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:18 pm
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Re: Amy Barrett is a rattled law professor w/her head up her
by admin » Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:32 pm
‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by right wing after USAid ruling. Supreme court justice who frequently votes alongside conservative colleagues branded ‘DEI judge’
by Adam Gabbatt
The Guardian
Sat 8 Mar 2025 15.26 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... right-wing
Amy Coney Barrett, the Donald Trump-appointed conservative supreme court justice, has been branded a “DEI judge” by furious rightwing figures, after she voted to reject Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign aid.
Coney Barrett, part of the court’s rightwing majority, split with her fellow conservative justices this week. She and John Roberts, the chief justice, voted to leave in place a ruling from a US district judge that ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid for foreign aid work that had already been performed, and that had been approved by Congress.
The reaction from pro-Trump rightwing commentators and activists was swift.
“She is evil, chosen solely because she checked identity politics boxes. Another DEI hire. It always ends badly,” Mike Cernovich, a prominent rightwing influencer and conspiracy theorist, wrote on X, referencing diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which Republicans have demonized.
Fox News host Mark Levin claimed in an online post that Barrett had “deceived people into thinking she was a reliable constitutionalist”. He added: “The power has gone to her head. It happens with frightening regularity the last half-century.”
Laura Loomer, the rightwing activist who repeatedly traveled with Trump during his 2024 campaign, went even further. She posted a picture of Coney Barrett’s family, which includes two adopted Black children, and wrote: “Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee.” Jack Posobiec, a popular Maga figure with more than 3m followers on X, posted that Coney Barrett was a “DEI judge”.
Mike Davis, who was involved in the effort to confirm Trump nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court, appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast to add his voice to the criticism.
“She’s a rattled law professor with her head up her ass,” Davis said of Coney Barrett.
He added: “As we work with the Trump 47 administration on the next supreme court list, we’re going to be looking for more bold, more fearless, less DEI, and people who are going to be more of a sure bet.”
The branding of Coney Barrett as a liberal judicial figure will come as a surprise to those familiar with her work and legal history.
Her appointment to the supreme court in October 2020 cemented the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, and she voted to overturn Roe v Wade, which established the right to abortion in the US, in 2022. An analysis by the Empirical Scotus website found that Barrett voted with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – the court’s two most conservative justices – more than 80% of the time in 2023.
However, before the vote to reject Trump’s attempt to withhold aid, she had sided with liberal justices to deny Trump’s request to delay sentencing in his New York hush-money case, and joined a dissent against a conservative-led decision that weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage.
by Adam Gabbatt
The Guardian
Sat 8 Mar 2025 15.26 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... right-wing
Amy Coney Barrett, the Donald Trump-appointed conservative supreme court justice, has been branded a “DEI judge” by furious rightwing figures, after she voted to reject Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign aid.
Coney Barrett, part of the court’s rightwing majority, split with her fellow conservative justices this week. She and John Roberts, the chief justice, voted to leave in place a ruling from a US district judge that ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid for foreign aid work that had already been performed, and that had been approved by Congress.
The reaction from pro-Trump rightwing commentators and activists was swift.
“She is evil, chosen solely because she checked identity politics boxes. Another DEI hire. It always ends badly,” Mike Cernovich, a prominent rightwing influencer and conspiracy theorist, wrote on X, referencing diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which Republicans have demonized.
Fox News host Mark Levin claimed in an online post that Barrett had “deceived people into thinking she was a reliable constitutionalist”. He added: “The power has gone to her head. It happens with frightening regularity the last half-century.”
Laura Loomer, the rightwing activist who repeatedly traveled with Trump during his 2024 campaign, went even further. She posted a picture of Coney Barrett’s family, which includes two adopted Black children, and wrote: “Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee.” Jack Posobiec, a popular Maga figure with more than 3m followers on X, posted that Coney Barrett was a “DEI judge”.
Mike Davis, who was involved in the effort to confirm Trump nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court, appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast to add his voice to the criticism.
“She’s a rattled law professor with her head up her ass,” Davis said of Coney Barrett.
He added: “As we work with the Trump 47 administration on the next supreme court list, we’re going to be looking for more bold, more fearless, less DEI, and people who are going to be more of a sure bet.”
The branding of Coney Barrett as a liberal judicial figure will come as a surprise to those familiar with her work and legal history.
Her appointment to the supreme court in October 2020 cemented the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, and she voted to overturn Roe v Wade, which established the right to abortion in the US, in 2022. An analysis by the Empirical Scotus website found that Barrett voted with Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – the court’s two most conservative justices – more than 80% of the time in 2023.
However, before the vote to reject Trump’s attempt to withhold aid, she had sided with liberal justices to deny Trump’s request to delay sentencing in his New York hush-money case, and joined a dissent against a conservative-led decision that weakened rules on the discharge of raw sewage.
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Re: Amy Barrett is a rattled law professor w/her head up her
by admin » Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:37 pm
MAGA turns on 'weak and timid' Supreme Court Justice appointed by Trump
by SARAH EWALL-WICE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER
DailyMail.com
Published: 11:15 EST, 7 March 2025 | Updated: 11:51 EST, 7 March 2025
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... rrett.html
MAGA world has turned on Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett despite her having been appointed to the country's highest court by President Donald Trump.
The associate justice was chosen by Trump and rushed through confirmation by Senate Republicans in 2020 ahead of the November presidential election.
But since her appointment, Barrett has joined her liberal colleagues on several occasions for rulings that have hampered Trump and his second term agenda.
In response, the president's loyal fans have turned their wrath on Barrett, calling her a traitor for her independent streak.
'Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee,' posted far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer on X this week.
Megyn Kelly went off on her on her podcast as 'a little squishy.'
'As a female who leans right, I'm kind of sick of like, the female conservatives who get appointed to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor, now Amy Coney Barrett, like being too squishy,' she ranted.
'Get somebody with some rhetorical balls who will hold as fiercely to conservative principles in the judiciary as the left wing does,' she added.
MAGA lawyer Mike Davis called Barrett 'scared of her own shadow.'
'She is a rattled law professor with her head up her a**,' Davis, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, said on Steve Bannon's podcast.
He also blasted her as 'weak and timid' to NBC News.
Right-wing influencer Eric Daugherty attacked the justice in a series of tweets as an 'anti-Trump judge' and a 'big problem.'
'Barrett deceived people into thinking she was a reliable constitutionalist. The power has gone to her head. It happens with frightening regularity the last half century,' posted conservative radio host Mark Levin.
The MAGA meltdown over Barrett kicked into high gear this week after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's emergency request to block the payment of $2 billion in foreign aid.
In the 5-4 decision, the country's highest court refused to halt a lower court judge ordering the administration to release the funds owed under existing contracts.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Barrett joined with the more liberal justices on the court in the majority.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, making Barrett the only Trump appointed justice to side against the president's effort.
In January, Barrett was among the same five-justice majority that ruled against Trump's request to halt him being sentenced on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records just days before his inauguration.
But Barrett has also been a swing vote siding with conservatives as well. She was in the majority which overturned Roe v Wade in 2023.
She was also in the 6-3 conservative majority last June that ruled presidents have some immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office.
Trump nominated Barrett to replace late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court after she passed away in September 2020.
In announcing her nomination, Trump said Barrett was going to be 'fantastic.'
'No matter the issue, no matter the case before her, I am supremely confident that Judge Barrett will issue rulings based solely upon a fair reading of the law,' the president said at the time.
Despite refusing to confirm an Obama Supreme Court nominee ahead of the 2016 election, Senate Republicans in the majority ramped through Barrett's confirmation.
The move solidified a conservative supermajority on the country's highest court just weeks before Joe Biden won the election and Democrats flipped the Senate.
by SARAH EWALL-WICE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER
DailyMail.com
Published: 11:15 EST, 7 March 2025 | Updated: 11:51 EST, 7 March 2025
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... rrett.html
MAGA world has turned on Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett despite her having been appointed to the country's highest court by President Donald Trump.
The associate justice was chosen by Trump and rushed through confirmation by Senate Republicans in 2020 ahead of the November presidential election.
But since her appointment, Barrett has joined her liberal colleagues on several occasions for rulings that have hampered Trump and his second term agenda.
In response, the president's loyal fans have turned their wrath on Barrett, calling her a traitor for her independent streak.
'Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee,' posted far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer on X this week.
Megyn Kelly went off on her on her podcast as 'a little squishy.'
'As a female who leans right, I'm kind of sick of like, the female conservatives who get appointed to the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor, now Amy Coney Barrett, like being too squishy,' she ranted.
'Get somebody with some rhetorical balls who will hold as fiercely to conservative principles in the judiciary as the left wing does,' she added.
MAGA lawyer Mike Davis called Barrett 'scared of her own shadow.'
'She is a rattled law professor with her head up her a**,' Davis, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, said on Steve Bannon's podcast.
He also blasted her as 'weak and timid' to NBC News.
Right-wing influencer Eric Daugherty attacked the justice in a series of tweets as an 'anti-Trump judge' and a 'big problem.'
'Barrett deceived people into thinking she was a reliable constitutionalist. The power has gone to her head. It happens with frightening regularity the last half century,' posted conservative radio host Mark Levin.
The MAGA meltdown over Barrett kicked into high gear this week after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's emergency request to block the payment of $2 billion in foreign aid.
In the 5-4 decision, the country's highest court refused to halt a lower court judge ordering the administration to release the funds owed under existing contracts.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Barrett joined with the more liberal justices on the court in the majority.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, making Barrett the only Trump appointed justice to side against the president's effort.
In January, Barrett was among the same five-justice majority that ruled against Trump's request to halt him being sentenced on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records just days before his inauguration.
But Barrett has also been a swing vote siding with conservatives as well. She was in the majority which overturned Roe v Wade in 2023.
She was also in the 6-3 conservative majority last June that ruled presidents have some immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office.
Trump nominated Barrett to replace late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court after she passed away in September 2020.
In announcing her nomination, Trump said Barrett was going to be 'fantastic.'
'No matter the issue, no matter the case before her, I am supremely confident that Judge Barrett will issue rulings based solely upon a fair reading of the law,' the president said at the time.
Despite refusing to confirm an Obama Supreme Court nominee ahead of the 2016 election, Senate Republicans in the majority ramped through Barrett's confirmation.
The move solidified a conservative supermajority on the country's highest court just weeks before Joe Biden won the election and Democrats flipped the Senate.
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