WATCH: ‘You would not be getting Justice Scalia,’ Amy Coney Barrett says of her SCOTUS nomination

Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett explained her judicial philosophy of originalism, an approach that asserts that the text of the Constitution must be interpreted based on the framers’ original intent.

“That meaning doesn’t change over time, and it’s not up to me to update it, or infuse my own policy views into it,” Barrett told Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Barrett’s mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, held the same judicial philosophy, she noted. But, she added, "If I’m confirmed, you would not be getting Justice Scalia. You would be getting Justice Barrett."

Barrett faced questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the second of four days of scheduled testimony as part of the committee’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. The Oct. 13 hearing gave senators an opportunity to ask Barrett about her record and approach to the law.

Watch highlights from from Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing Day 1

Watch highlights from Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing Day 2

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS NewsHour at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe:

PBS NewsHour podcasts

Newsletters