Barrett confirmed as Supreme Court justice in partisan vote
WASHINGTON (AP) – Amy Coney Barrett is headed to to the Supreme Court.
The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee in a 52-48 vote with Republicans overpowering Democratic opposition a week before Election Day. Barrett will be the third Supreme Court justice nominated by Trump. At 48, she is likely secure a conservative court majority for years to come.
With no real power to stop the vote, Democrats still argued the winner of the Nov. 3 election should choose the nominee. Barrett will fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who died last month.
“As both a law professor and a judge, Justice Barrett has shown a deep respect for the Constitution and a commitment to upholding the law rather than trying to legislate from the bench. During the confirmation process, she made it clear that she will be impartial and fair, and that she understands the proper role of a judge. Justice Barrett has the right judicial philosophy for North Dakota and our nation, and we congratulate her on her confirmation to serve as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court,” Republican North Dakota Senator John Hoeven said.
“Today, we did the job we were sent here to do. Congratulations to Justice Barrett on being confirmed and to Leader McConnell and Chairman Graham for successfully shepherding her nomination through the Senate. History will look back on today as the day we confirmed one of the most impressive judicial nominees we’ve seen in a generation. She is a brilliant, virtuous jurist who is ready to serve our country on the nation’s highest court. I am honored to have cast my vote to confirm her,” Republican North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer said.
On my dissenting no vote on Supreme Court nominee tonight:
Remember Justice Ginsburg’s dissents were never “cries of defeat.” They were her “blueprints for the future.”
This election is now our country’s blueprint for the future. #Vote
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) October 27, 2020
“Today I voted to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to become an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge Barrett was nominated to fulfill President Trump’s repeated promise to appoint Justices who would dismantle the Affordable Care Act and overturn Roe v. Wade, two things that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. I am dismayed that rather than work to pass legislation to help the American people in the face of a global pandemic and widespread economic hardship, Senate Republicans instead chose to ram through the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice to help advance a radical policy agenda that threatens the rights and freedoms of all Americans,” Democratic Minnesota Senator Tina Smith said.
