But in an interview with USA TODAY, Barrett declared: "I'm nobody's justice." Indeed, she has been more independent than either faction thought at first, and is now seen as an occasional swing vote on a solidly conservative court.

Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson — will crisscross the country to make a combined more than two dozen stops this month, soaking up the final weeks of the court’s summer recess to promote their titles.