Amy Coney Barrett Sworn In as Supreme Court Justice at the White House

Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation by the Senate Monday night was a touchstone accomplishment for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that solidifies a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court just eight days before the U.S. election.

The Senate confirmed Barrett on a partisan 52-48 vote, and Justice Clarence Thomas administered the first of two required oaths to Barrett on the South Lawn of the White House a short time later with Trump looking on. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the second oath in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, letting Barrett begin work as a justice.

Barrett may be asked to weigh in on cases that would determine the outcome of a close election, and is expected to vote on whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional soon after she joins the court.

“This is a momentous day for America, for the United States Constitution, and for the fair and impartial rule of law,” Trump said. Barrett, he said, “will make an oustanding justice on the highest court in our land.”

Elevating the 48-year-old jurist helps fulfill a longstanding GOP goal of transforming the federal bench into a conservative legal bulwark. With the clearest anti-abortion record of any high court nominee in decades, Barrett’s appointment also is a major victory for Evangelical Christian groups that have loyally supported Republicans and are a crucial voting bloc for Trump as he heads into Election Day trailing Democrat Joe Biden.

“It’s a privilege to be asked to serve my country in this office and I stand here tonight truly honored and humbled,” Barrett said.

“This was a rigorous confirmation process, and I thank all of you, especially Leader McConnell and Chairman Graham, to help me navigate it,” referring to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, both facing re-election next week.

She thanked White House staff and the Department of Justice for advising her in the confirmation process. She vowed to separate her personal political leanings from her judicial decisions.

“It is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences,” she said. “It would be a dereliction of duty to give in to them.”

Trump and his GOP allies in the Senate pushed for a quick confirmation of Barrett, and it came just 38 days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who for 27 years anchored the court’s liberal wing. Trump had said he wanted his replacement for Ginsburg in place to avoid a deadlocked court should the outcome of the presidential election depend on a ruling, as was the case in 2000.

All Democrats in the Senate voted against Barrett’s confirmation, as did Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, objecting to confirming a justice so close to the election.

The highly partisan vote on the confirmation mirrors the divisions in the country leading up to the election and on some of the issues that will be before the high court in the near future. Those issues include the validity of Obamacre and the status of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion rights nationwide, as well as voting and civil rights

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