WASHINGTON _ Evangelicals laud her. Abortion rights advocates fear her. If President Donald Trump nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, the nation will be plunged into another divisive confirmation hearing, with Democrats sure to interrogate her on abortion and how she would approach long-standing court precedents.
But will they focus on her Catholic religious beliefs?
Barrett, a former law professor at Notre Dame University, was one of four judges Trump interviewed Monday and she has written about a Catholic judge's duties to respect both the law and the church. After Trump nominated her to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last year, Barrett faced grilling from Democrats on whether her Catholic faith would guide her decisions, with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein telling Barrett that "the dogma lives loudly within you."
