Amy Coney Barrett Sworn In As Supreme Court Justice

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed last evening as the newest member of the United States Supreme Court. After a lengthy filibuster attempt by Democrats to delay or sway the vote, the Senate voted to confirm her appointment just after 8:30 pm, Monday evening Barrett was then sworn in in a hastily arranged ceremony at the White House by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. This morning she officially took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Barrett vowed to be fair and independent. "The oath that I have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own”.

Barrett was appointed after a contentious battle between the Democrats , who wanted Trump to await the outcome of the election next week before appointing anyone and the republicans who said the President had the Constitutional Right to make the appointment. In a 52- 48 vote on Monday evening, Barrett was confirmed as the 5th woman to sit on the bench of the highest court in the nation and follows the popular Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away in September. Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor, and was the first Jewish woman to sit on the Court.

Barrett takes her seat just as several key issues are to be heard by the court in the coming days. There are challenges to the ACA (Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare) along with LGBTQ issues and on top of the fact that the Court may be called on to decide the outcome of the election in much the same way they did when George Bush was handed the decision in the 2000 election. 

With Barrett's appointment the Court now has a 6-3 Conservative majority and could for decades as Barrett is only 48 years old and could conceivably serve for 40 years for more. The current oldest Justices are Stephen G. Breyer who turned 82 in August and Clarence Thomas who turned 72 this year. Barrett is the 104th Associate Justice in the Court's history.

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Submitted by Brewster, NY

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