Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Thursday she does not believe the United States is in a constitutional crisis as President Donald Trump seeks to unilaterally reshape the government and his administration frequently feuds with judges.
Barrett, a Trump appointee who is part of the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, defended the Supreme Court as an institution and said Americans should have faith in its ability to address probing problems with integrity.
"I think the Constitution is alive and well," Barrett said in an interview with Bari Weiss, hosted by the Free Press in New York, to promote her new book.
"I don't know what a constitutional crisis would look like. I don't think that we are currently in a constitutional crisis, however," she added. "I think our country remains committed to the rule of law. I think we have functioning courts."
A constitutional crisis would have arrived if "the rule of law crumbled," Barrett said. But, she added, "that is not a place where we are."
Lower courts have frequently blocked Trump's executive actions as unlawful exercises of power, only for the Supreme Court in most cases to then rule in favor of the administration via brief orders that often include no reasoning.
That led some federal judges to tell NBC News that the Supreme Court is at least giving the appearance of validating some of the harsh criticism directed at them by Trump and his allies.
Some judges have also accused the Trump administration of defying court orders, while some in MAGA world have called for the removal of judges who rule against Trump.
Barrett conceded that the country is riven by "passionate disagreement" but said that has happened in the past and been surmounted.
The Supreme Court, she added, "does operate with integrity."
While it may not "get it right" all the time and is not above criticism, "I do think Americans should trust that the court is trying to get it right," she said.
Asked about lower courts handling emergency cases, Barrett struck a conciliatory tone, saying, "Our district court judges work so hard to get it right."
