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WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States Senate confirmed conservative jurist Amy Coney Barrett as the newest Supreme Court Justice on Monday (October 26), awarding a historic and controversial victory for President Donald Trump just eight days. before the elections.
The deeply divided chamber voted 52-48, largely along party lines in the Republican-controlled Senate, making Barrett the third Trump candidate to reach the superior court and cementing a conservative majority. from six to three. A Republican, Susan Collins, voted against confirmation.
Republican lawmakers erupted in applause when the count was read, and the White House is also expected to celebrate confirmation in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election, in which more than 60 million Americans have already voted.
Barrett’s addition consolidates one of the most right-wing Supreme Court lists in generations. The shift of the Supreme Court and the broader federal judiciary to the right has been a landmark achievement of the Trump presidency, with the help of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In this still image from the video, the total votes in the United States Senate on Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to become a Justice of the Supreme Court at the United States Capitol in Washington on October 26, 2020 (Television of the Senate via AP).
CELEBRATORY EVENT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
The planned ceremony at the White House comes a month after a similar event was linked to a COVID-19 outbreak that preceded Trump’s own infection. Barrett will succeed Liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month.
At the ceremony, Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will administer one of two oaths that justices must take, according to a White House official.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the separate judicial oath in court on Tuesday, the court said in a statement.
Trump, who has been promoting the appointment at campaign rallies to cheers from his supporters, lobbied the Senate to confirm Barrett, 48, for the life term ahead of the Nov.3 election, in which he follows the Democrat Joe Biden in national opinion polls. Never has a Supreme Court judge been confirmed so close to a presidential election.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell raises his thumb as he leaves the Capitol chamber after a vote confirming Amy Coney Barrett before the Supreme Court on October 26, 2020 in Washington. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Trump has said he hopes the court will decide the outcome of the election between himself and Democrat Joe Biden and wants Barrett to participate in any election-related case that comes before the judges.
Just before the Senate vote, the court in a 5-3 vote with conservative justices in the majority, issued an order to curb the deadline for receiving ballots by mail on Wisconsin’s electoral battlefield.
Barrett’s confirmation shifts the Supreme Court further to the right, which could pave the way for conservative rulings that curb abortion rights, expand gun rights and limit voting rights, among other things.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the Republican majority was “igniting its credibility” by proceeding with the vote so close to the election after blocking Democratic President Barack Obama’s election-year candidate in 2016.
“The truth is that this nomination is part of a decades-long effort to tilt the judiciary towards the extreme right,” he added.
McConnell defended Barrett’s nomination.
“We have no doubt, right, that if the shoe was on the other foot, they would be confirming,” McConnell said. “Not everyone can win and the elections have consequences.”
Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, is Trump’s third selection for the court, allowing him to dramatically remake it as part of his success in moving the broader federal judiciary to the right since taking office. in 2017.
READ: Comment: Has Trump already undone the entire Obama legacy?
OBAMACARE CASE
Barrett is expected to join the discussions Nov. 10 in a case where Trump and the Republican-led states seek to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 health care law, also known as Obamacare, has helped millions of Americans obtain health insurance and has prohibited private insurers from denying health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Barrett has criticized previous rulings upholding Obamacare, but said during his confirmation hearing that he did not have an agenda to invalidate the measure.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, Barrett, a favorite of conservative Christians, upset Democrats by sidestepping questions about abortion, presidential powers, climate change, voting rights, Obamacare and other issues.
READ: Barrett, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, advocated repealing legalized abortion
The Rose Garden ceremony on Sept. 26 in which Trump named Barrett as his nominee preceded a wave of COVID-19 cases among top Republicans, including Trump and first lady Melania Trump. The president spent three nights in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19.
The event, part of which took place in the White House Rose Garden, was packed with guests, many of whom were not wearing masks.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters that Monday’s event will likely take place outdoors.
“Tonight, we will do our best to encourage as much social distancing as possible,” Meadows said.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican and Trump ally, said he was not overly concerned about attending the White House event.
“I would anticipate that everyone will practice good hygiene, social distancing, whatever is appropriate,” Cramer told reporters.
Several other Republican senators said they weren’t sure they would attend, and McConnell did not respond when asked by a reporter. Earlier this month, McConnell said he had not been in the White House since August due to his handling of COVID-19 precautions.
