Barrett is confirmed as Supreme Court justice by Senate

U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate on Monday (local time). With her confirmation, the U.S. Supreme Court glaringly lopsided with six Republican-nominated justices and three Democratic justices. With the Supreme Court largely dominated by Republican justices, President Donald Trump will have an advantage in the case of any lawsuit regarding the upcoming presidential election.

After over 30 hours of discussions, the Senate voted 52 to 48 to confirm‎ the nomination of Barrett. Senator Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican who voted against the nomination, along with all Democratic members. This is the first Supreme Court nomination in 151 years with zero votes from an opposition party.

The approval of Barrett was processed swiftly over about a month from nomination to Senate hearings, vote by the Judiciary Committee, and Senate confirmation since the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last month. While the Democrats criticized that the nomination right before the presidential election is illegal, the Republican-majority Senate pushed forward saying that it is the exercising of a lawful right as defined in the Constitution and the qualifications of Barrett have been sufficiently verified. With the approval, Barrett has become the fifth female Supreme Court justice and the second-youngest since Clarence Thomas who was sworn in at the age of 43 in 1991. As a devoted Catholic, she has conservative views, such as pro-life values, according to religious beliefs.

As the Supreme Court has become even more Republican, any lawsuit regarding the presidential election on November 3 is likely to be ruled in favor of President Trump, which may affect the election result. The president is forewarning a lawsuit by arguing that mail-in ballots have “big problems.” In the 2000 presidential election, the Supreme Court ruled against the recounting of votes in Florida, which led to the victory of Republican President George W. Bush.


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