Monday night, Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court on the floor of the U.S. Senate after being nominated by President Trump last month. She was confirmed with 52 YEA to 48 NAY votes.
Presidents get to fill Supreme Court vacancies at any time — even in a presidential election year, even in a lame-duck session after the election, even after defeat— Dan McLaughlin
Barrett affirmed her allegiance to the Constitution Monday night at the White House. Trump explained his reasoning for appointing Barrett, saying, ” Justice Barrett has made clear she will issue rulings based solely upon a faithful reading of the law and the Constitution as written, not legislate from the bench [1].” He added, “The equal, impartial, and constitutional rule of law that we enjoy every day in America is one of the crowning achievements in the history of human civilization. It is the triumph of reason, experience, and the values which are eternal and everlasting. Our devotion to this inheritance is what has made America the most just, exceptional, and glorious nation ever to exist.”
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell had promised a vote for Trump’s nominee last month after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away from cancer, saying, “Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.” [2]
The equal, impartial, and constitutional rule of law that we enjoy every day in America is one of the crowning achievements in the history of human civilization.— President Trump
Democrats voted unanimously against Barrett and were joined by Maine Senator Susan Collins [3] which broke up the united Republican front. Collins is in a heated race for her seat in Maine where her Democratic rival, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House, called the senator’s vote against Barrett “nothing more than a political calculation [4].”
The opposition against Barrett’s confirmation was vocal in their dissent. Minority Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said that Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would “go down as one of the darkest days” and “generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences” following the vote [5].
There were concerns about the vote coming so close to a Presidential Election. Democrats worried out loud about the timing and that the Republicans had done something illegitimate by Trump’s nomination of and the Senate’s confirmation of Barrett. However, Dan McLaughlin, in the National Review back in August of this year after Ginsburg had announced her cancer recurrence, wrote, “Historically, throughout American history, when their party controls the Senate, presidents get to fill Supreme Court vacancies at any time — even in a presidential election year, even in a lame-duck session after the election, even after defeat [6].”
“Twenty-nine times in American history there has been an open Supreme Court vacancy in a presidential election year, or in a lame-duck session before the next presidential inauguration” and “The president made a nomination in all twenty-nine cases,” McLaughlin said.
According to Fox News, Barrett will be the 220th federal judge appointed by Trump [7].
Notes:
- ^Remarks by President Trump at Swearing-In Ceremony of the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | The White House. (2020, October 27). Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-swearing-ceremony-honorable-amy-coney-barrett-associate-justice-supreme-court-united-states (go back ↩)
- ^McConnell promises a Senate vote on Supreme Court nominee. (2020, October 27). Retrieved from https://americandigest.com/mcconnell-senate-vote-nominee (go back ↩)
- ^U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress – 2nd Session. (2020, January 16). Retrieved from https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=116&session=2&vote=00224 (go back ↩)
- ^David Sharp, A. P. (2020). Collins votes against Barrett, heads home to save Senate job. KWKT – FOX 44. Retrieved from https://www.fox44news.com/news/political-news/collins-votes-against-barrett-heads-home-to-save-senate-job (go back ↩)
- ^Schumer: Barrett Confirmation ‘One of the Darkest Days’ in Senate History. (2020, October 27). Retrieved from https://freebeacon.com/democrats/schumer-barrett-confirmation-one-of-the-darkest-days-in-senate-history (go back ↩)
- ^McLaughlin, D. (2020). History Is on the Side of Republicans Filling a Supreme Court Vacancy in 2020. National Review. Retrieved from https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/08/history-is-on-the-side-of-republicans-filling-a-supreme-court-vacancy-in-2020 (go back ↩)
- ^Olson, T. (2020). Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court, cements 6-3 conservative majority. Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-amy-coney-barrett-vote (go back ↩)
