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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The four federal legislators that represent Northeastern Pennsylvania weighed in on President Donald Trump&rsquo;s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
				Trump made the announcement Saturday at a ceremony in the White House Rose garden.
				U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley
				&ldquo;I am pleased that President Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
				&ldquo;Given Judge Barrett&rsquo;s intellect, strong legal credentials, and impeccable character, I was proud to support her confirmation to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. These same attributes will serve her well on the nation&rsquo;s highest court. As a working mother with young children, Judge Barrett would also bring to the Supreme Court a background that will add to its diversity.
				&ldquo;Importantly, Judge Barrett has shown an unfailing commitment to the proper role of a judge &mdash; which is to apply the law, including the U.S. Constitution, as written, and not to decide cases based on a preferred policy or outcome.
				&ldquo;I look forward to reviewing Judge Barrett&rsquo;s record further in the coming weeks and speaking with her soon as I consider her nomination.&rdquo;
				U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been only a week since we lost Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, yet President Trump and Sen. McConnell are rushing to confirm a Supreme Court Justice who will back their lawsuit to destroy the Affordable Care Act, kicking 23 million people off their health insurance, ending protections for 135 million people with pre-existing conditions and raising costs for millions more, in the middle of a pandemic.
				&ldquo;Voters across the country are already casting their ballots in this presidential election, and the right thing to do for our country is to allow the winner to nominate a successor to Justice Ginsburg.
				&ldquo;Since President Trump has pledged to only nominate candidates from a list approved by two far-right organizations, the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, it&rsquo;s unsurprising that he has nominated an individual with an extreme judicial philosophy. If confirmed, Judge Amy Coney Barrett will almost certainly vote to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which will adversely impact working families, children and seniors.
				&ldquo;I cannot support a Supreme Court nominee who would rip health care away from tens of millions, undermine the rights of workers and do the bidding of large corporations.
				&ldquo;Instead of focusing on tackling the virus and helping millions get back to work, Donald Trump is trying to rush an appointment onto the Supreme Court to ensure that the nominee is the deciding vote to take away protections for 5.5 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions.
				&ldquo;President Trump is more concerned with his own election than protecting Americans from the deadly virus or creating millions of good paying jobs for the almost 750,000 out of work in our Commonwealth.&rdquo;
				U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas
				&ldquo;President Trump made an outstanding decision in nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the current vacancy on the United States Supreme Court.
				&ldquo;The job of a Supreme Court Justice is to fairly interpret the law and to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution, not render decisions to advance preferred legislative outcomes.
				&ldquo;Judge Coney Barrett has a proven record as an independent jurist who is widely respected across the ideological spectrum for her thoughtful decisions, rooted in the judicial philosophy of originalism.
				&ldquo;By filling the current vacancy on the Supreme Court, President Trump is executing his Constitutional authority and fulfilling his promise to the American people.
				&ldquo;I am confident Judge Coney Barrett will be a worthy replacement for Justice Ginsburg and look forward to a fair and swift confirmation process.&rdquo;
				U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic
				&ldquo;Senate Republicans are about to try and jam a Supreme Court nominee through the confirmation process in time for the election. That&rsquo;s because they are all too eager to install a justice that would help them achieve their longstanding goal of using the Court to blow up the health care law that protects 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and covers nearly one million Pennsylvanians with health insurance.
				&ldquo;I have never disrespected anyone because of policy disagreements. One of the things that makes our nation strong is that people have a right to their own opinions. What I cannot abide is lack of principle.
				&ldquo;After Sen. McConnell refused to allow the confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland in 2016 on the basis that it was an election year, his doing so now for Judge Barrett, weeks before a presidential election, stamps him as a man who is unequivocally unprincipled. I urge him to re-think this course, and instead to put his energy into helping the American people by passing real COVID relief, and taking up the more than 340 bills that we passed in the House this term with Democratic and Republican support, which he continues to stonewall.&rdquo;

Local federal legislators react to Trump’s Supreme Court nomination