WATCH: Barrett says it would have been 'cowardly' to not accept Supreme Court nomination

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., questioned Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 14, the third day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, about why she would pursue her nomination knowing that she would be "attacked" and "unfairly treated," as opposed to leaving the seat "for somebody else." Barrett acknowledged that the nomination process is difficult and even "excruciating," given that her children could be "attacked" and her "entire life" would be "combed over." "Other people could do this job, but the same difficulty will be present for everyone. And so for me to say, 'I'm not willing to undertake it, even though I think this is something important,' would be a little cowardly, and I wouldn't be answering a call to serve my country in a way that I was asked," Barrett said. She added that her children, one of whom "got very upset" during Tuesday's hearing, "were part of the reason not to do it," but that "they are also the reason to do it." She said that's because if "we are to protect our institutions," freedoms and the rule of law for the benefit of "our children and our children's children, then we need to participate in that work."
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