(CNN) President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is nominating Amy Coney Barrett , a conservative federal appeals court judge, to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court, setting off a fierce partisan battle in the waning days of a hotly contested presidential election. Barrett, Trump declared before an audience that included Scalia's widow, Republican senators and several figures from the conservative media, is "one of our nation's most brilliant and gifted legal minds." "This should be a straightforward and prompt confirmation," Trump said. In the week Trump deliberated his latest Supreme Court choice, Barrett, once a finalist for the Supreme Court spot that went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, emerged as the favorite among his shortlist, after meeting with the President at the White House, according to sources familiar. Legal philosophySince joining the appellate bench, Barrett has been a cautious jurist, plainly aware that she remains under a national microscope for any Supreme Court confirmation battle.

Source: CNN September 26, 2020 20:09 UTC