After three years on the bench, it's becoming clear that Supreme Court justice Amy Coney Barrett is much more moderate than many anticipated.
In her first two years on the court, Barrett voted with the right over 70% of the time. But by her third year, she was voting with conservatives 56% of the time, Newsweek reported.
Barrett showcased her independence particularly during the court's most recent term, which involved explosive controversies about Donald Trump, presidential power and January 6th.
Barrett has sided with the conservative wing on some pivotal rulings, particularly the Dobbs ruling that ended Roe v. Wade. But she has often beat to her own drum, leaving many court watchers surprised.
In oral arguments during Trump's presidential immunity case, Barrett suggested that Special Counsel Jack Smith could continue prosecuting Trump by separating "official acts" from the indictment.
When the court rendered its opinion, Barrett disagreed with the majority's view that "official acts" cannot be used as evidence.
"She wants to be the swing vote," Alison LaCroix, a law professor at the University of Chicago, told Newsweek. "And that might lead her to issue opinions that seem to be more moderate than the conservative majority."
Barrett has also differed with conservatives on the use of history and tradition as interpretative tools. Conservatives have emphasized that methodology in Second Amendment cases.
"Evidence of 'tradition' unmoored from original meaning is not binding law," she wrote in a Second Amendment case this year. "Historical regulations reveal a principle, not a mold."
Republicans rushed to confirm Barrett prior to the 2020 election after the surprise death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At the time, liberals portrayed Barrett as a dangerous ideologue.
But the most extreme predictions about Barrett's appointment have not come to fruition. Barrett's move to the middle has won praise from the left, but it likely to cause disappointment among those who hoped she would be a more reliable conservative voice.
President Biden, who has pushed for sweeping Supreme Court reform, brought up Barrett's "outrageous" appointment recently, accusing Republicans of a brazen power grab.
Biden noted that Republicans blocked Merrick Garland when Barack Obama nominated him in 2016, with Republicans arguing at the time that it was an election year. Four years later, Republicans confirmed Barrett over howls of protest.
Looking back, some are probably wondering - what was all the fuss about?
