The White House is preparing to “fiercely” defend Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett during her nomination process, senior White House officials told Fox News.
President Donald Trump nominated Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States on Saturday and the Senate will reportedly begin the process for confirming Barrett on October 12. Ahead of the nomination, senior White House officials told Fox News the White House will wage an “offensive” communications strategy for “knife fighters” to defend Barrett.
“We will need to be knife fighters with the opposition, and will be prepared to marshal information quickly, and disseminate it to push back on any false narratives or attacks on her and her family, because we anticipate, unfortunately, that Democrats will go there,” a senior official told Fox News.
EXCLUSIVE: #AmyConeyBarrett confirmation: Inside the White House’s plan to deploy ‘knife fighters’ to defend nomineehttps://t.co/3slaxnp46Q
— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) September 28, 2020
“So we’re mounting an offensive strategy on her behalf because she is such an incredible and inspiring nominee,” the official told the publication. “We’ll be defending her fiercely every day.” (RELATED: President Trump Nominates Amy Coney Barrett To Supreme Court)
One part of the team will focus on communications and the other will focus on helping guide Barrett through the nomination process, the senior officials said. The team will be made up of White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern, communications officials Alyssa Farah and Ben Williamson, and White House staff, Fox News reported.
The team will be “very well-synced” with the Senate Republican conference, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate leadership such as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office, Fox reported. White House Counsel Pat Cippollone and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows will also play “integral roles,” according to Fox.
Meadows, in particular, will prep and guide Barrett through the process. (RELATED: These Are The Attacks Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett Has Already Faced From Democrats)
“He knows exactly the senators we’ll need to win over, and the issues that matter to them,” one senior official told Fox News. “He knows which senators to target that could bring over votes for her, and will help her to remain independent and speak to her own judicial record to win those key votes. He’s a Capitol Hill strategist.”
Cippollone “knows what she’ll be questioned on,” one senior official Fox.
“He’ll know ways to navigate those without telegraphing too much to get through the confirmation,” another official told the publication. “Between Pat’s legal mind and Meadows’ Hill mind, we feel we have the strongest team in place to get through this.”
“Our sense, strategically, is that we know the process,” the official said. “We have muscle memory from being through two confirmations now, we have a White House counsel team who knows what to expect, and we feel highly confident about where we are.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.