US Senate confirms Amy Barrett as new Supreme Court Justice

Washington, Oct 26 (efe-epa).- The United States Senate on Monday confirmed Amy Barrett as the new Supreme Court judge, eight days before the presidential elections, consolidating the conservative majority in the country’s most important court.

Barrett was confirmed with 52 votes in favor – all Republican senators – and 48 against – all Democrats and the conservative Susan Collins.

Barrett, 48, is scheduled to be sworn in for life tonight at a White House rally that will also include President Donald Trump.

Barrett’s confirmation in the Senate Monday comes after a rushed and controversial process that began Sep. 18 with the death of progressive judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg at 87.

Barrett was nominated by Trump days later, on Sep. 26, before Ginsburg was buried.

Just as Republicans blocked the confirmation of a progressive judge during the last year of Barack Obama’s term, they did not want to risk that a possible Democratic victory next week thwarted their plans with Barrett.

Republicans thus took advantage of their control over the Executive and the Senate to further favor the Supreme Court, which now has six conservative and three progressive justices, which marks the future of the court for the next decades.

Trump, in fact, has succeeded in confirming three Supreme Court justices in his four years in power: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett.

Barrett will now have to decide whether to refrain from participating in any possible appeals that come to the Supreme Court related to election results, something she did not want to commit to during her confirmation hearings despite being nominated by Trump, one of the two running candidates.

Conservatives also consider that Barrett’s confirmation a “historic victory” for those who oppose abortion, because the judge is contrary to that right guaranteed in the US since 1973, although she has not clarified whether she would vote to undermine it. EFE-EPA

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