Former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse says he lobbied President Trump to put “that Catholic lady from Notre Dame” on the Supreme Court — presumably, Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Mr. Sasse shared the story during an episode of his “Not Dead Yet” podcast released last week.
He said that, as a non-lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, he had to educate himself about Mr. Trump’s judicial nominations. He and the president had phone calls about then-Judge Barrett after Mr. Trump appointed the former Notre Dame professor to a circuit court.
“I immediately started lobbying him that he should put her on the Supreme Court, such that one of Donald Trump’s very funny habits is he often reduces people to about two things,” Mr. Sasse said. “And whatever they are, that is what comes up every time you talk to him. My three things were: doesn’t dress well, wears Nebraska pullover gear on TV […] super religious guy who is really into his family.”
“That’s alright by me,” Mr. Sasse said. “And over time, he added that I was a freak obsessed with ’that Catholic lady from Notre Dame.’ The president became obsessed with the idea I was obsessed with getting Amy on the court.”
Mr. Trump appointed Justice Barrett in 2020 to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Surprisingly, Mr. Sasse often criticized Mr. Trump during his tenure in the Senate. He left Capitol Hill in 2023 and went on to serve as president of the University of Florida until July 2024.
Mr. Sasse announced in December that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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