Amy Coney Barrett Near Cinch as Conservatives Like Her 'Certainty'

Nearly all sources who spoke to Newsmax on and off the record agreed the nomination of the onetime Notre Dame University Law professor and mother of seven will be the result of support for, and insistence on, Barrett by national conservatives and at least one senator who said she offered "certainty" of being a textualist (strict interpreter of the Constitution) that other contenders did not.

"[Barbara] Lagoa might be fine, but there isn't time to find out," the senator told Newsmax under condition of anonymity, referring to the U.S. Court of Appeals judge from Florida who is a finalist for nomination.

Recalling how conservatives were disappointed in past nominees who had "assurances" of conservatism – such as former Justice David Souter and present Chief Justice John Roberts – the senator said "this appointment is too risky, and I'm not willing to take a risk on this one."