52 to 48 in the Senate confirm the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative appeals court judge, eight days before the presidential election.
President Trump nominated Barrett to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Having confirmed her to the Circuit Court in 2017 with bipartisan support, the Senate has already undertaken a thorough and rigorous review of her record,” Sen. Ted Cruz (Rep Texas) said after President Trump made the nomination last month.
In a White House ceremony following the vote Monday evening, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Coney Barrett.
Justice Barrett is the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge to become the 115th Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court.
In a White House ceremony following the vote Monday evening, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Justice Barrett.
The Senate Democrats tried to slow down confirmation process of Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee with various procedural maneuvers, but the fact that Republicans control the Senate has always meant a Barrett confirmation promised.
“The Senate is doing the right thing. We’re moving this nomination forward, and, colleagues, by tomorrow night we’ll have a new member of the United States Supreme Court,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep Kentucky., said.
Democrats insisted Republicans should have waited for voters to have their say on Election Day warning of a disastrous precedent that would draw retaliation should their party win power, and, in a last-ditch act of protest, tried unsuccessfully to force the Senate to adjourn before the confirmation vote.
Republicans on the other hand said it was their right as the majority party and exulted in their win. In replacing Justice Ginsburg, a liberal icon, the court is gaining a conservative who could sway cases in every area of American life, including abortion rights, gay rights, business regulation and the environment.
Justice Barrett has made her philosophy clear: she said during her confirmation hearings that she will not legislate from the bench. “Courts have a vital responsibility to the rule of law, which is critical to a free society, but courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life.”
“If we are to protect our institutions, and protect the freedoms, and protect the rule of law that’s the basis for the society and the freedom that we all enjoy—if we want that for our children and our children’s children—then we need to participate in that work,” Justice Barrett said.
Be the first to comment