Amy Coney Barrett accepts Supreme Court nomination, pledges to 'faithfully and impartially discharge' duties

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Amy Coney Barrett: I pledge to 'be mindful' of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy

Amy Coney Barrett addresses the public for the first time as the Supreme Court nominee after being selected by President Trump to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday accepted President Trump’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court, pledging to “faithfully and impartially discharge” her duties under the Constitution while vowing to go through the confirmation process with “humility and courage.”

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"I pledge to discharge the responsibilities of this job to the very best of my ability,” Barrett said Saturday in the Rose Garden alongside the president. “I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution.”

Barrett went on to revere late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away last Friday.

“Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful of who came before me,” she said, saying Ginsburg “not only broke glass ceilings—she smashed them.”

“She was a woman of enormous talent and consequence,” Barrett said.

Barrett clerked under late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who she called her “mentor” Saturday, and referenced the friendship Scalia had with Ginsburg.

Barrett said that the two had arguments “about matters of great consequence,” but that their relationship proved that “need not destroy affection.”

“In both my personal and professional relationships, I strive to meet those standards,” she said, adding that the lessons she learned clerking under Scalia still “resonate.”

“His judicial philosophy is mine too: A judge must apply the law as written," she said. "Judges are not policy makers and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.”

Barrett thanked her husband, who she called “honorable” for his unwavering support and her seven children, who she called her “greatest joy.”

Barrett said that the Supreme Court is an “institution that belongs to all of us,” nothing that she would “not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle, or for my own,” but for the American people.

“I will do equal right to the poor and the rich and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution,” Barrett said.

Barrett went on to acknowledge what is likely to be a heated and controversial confirmation process.

“I have no illusions that the road ahead of me will be easy, for the short term or the long haul,” Barrett said. “I never imagined I would find myself in this position.”

She added: “I will meet the challenge with both humility and courage.”

Addressing members of the Senate, Barrett said: “I will do my very best to demonstrate that I am worthy of your support.”

Barrett’s remarks came after the president introduced her to a crowded Rose Garden, touting her “unyielding loyalty” to the Constitution.

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“Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation's most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the Supreme Court," Trump said in the Rose Garden. "She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution -- Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”

The president said that Barrett’s Senate confirmation process should be a “quick” one, while urging Democrats to “provide her with a respectful and dignified hearing that she deserves” and that “America deserves.” He urged the media to avoid “personal attacks,” in an apparent reference to the confirmation process in 2018 for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Barrett, a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, had been considered by Trump for the vacancy left by the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy in 2018.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to put a nominee up for a vote, despite the objections of Senate Democrats -- who cite McConnell’s refusal to give Obama nominee Merrick Garland a hearing in 2016.

McConnell praised Barrett in a statement, saying Trump "could not have made a better decision.”

"Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an exceptionally impressive jurist and an exceedingly well-qualified nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States," he said.

But Senate Minority Leder Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed McConnell and the president, accusing them "shamelessly rushing to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat less than 40 days before a presidential election."

Ginsburg, a consistent vote on the court’s liberal wing, died last week at 87. The announcement sets up what is likely to be a fierce confirmation battle as Republicans attempt to confirm Barrett before the election on Nov. 3.

Barrett, a former Notre Dame professor and a mother of seven, is a devout Catholic and pro-life -- beliefs that were raised as a problem by Democrats during her 2017 confirmation hearing to her seat on the 7th Circuit.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and John Roberts contributed to this report.