The United States Senate confirmed Amy Connie Barrett as a member of the United States Supreme Court.
She was nominated by President Donald Trump.
52 senators voted for Barrett, 48 against.
Barrett was sworn in at a ceremony at the White House.
Trump at the event called her "one of the most prominent legal scholars" in the United States.
The American people were "deeply impressed by her accomplishments," he said.
In the message of the Republican senators, in turn, it is noted that Barrett "will go down in history as the first woman in history with school-age children to become a judge of the US Supreme Court."
"Today we are making history," said a statement on the GOP Senators Twitter page.
Barrett herself, speaking at the ceremony, promised to impartially serve as the chief judge.
“The oath I took today essentially means that I will do my job without fear and without bias, as well as regardless of the influence of political forces and my own preferences,” she said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Democrat Nancy Pelosi has already reacted to Barrett's approval.
According to her, "eight days before the elections, after 60 million Americans had already voted, President Trump and the Republican Senate, in complete despair, pushed their candidacy for the Supreme Court judge."
This is stated in a written statement by Pelosi.
“Now Americans must continue to push for their voices to be heard in the elections.
Congress will have to repair the damage from the radical actions of the Republican-controlled court ... "- she said.
According to Pelosi, Trump's decision to nominate Barrett before the presidential election threatens the values and rights of citizens of the United States.
House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi
Reuters
© Carlos Barria
“The president’s manipulation of the Supreme Court threatens the very values and rights that define and distinguish our country: a woman’s constitutional right to make her own health decisions, the rights of LGBT Americans, the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively for fair wages. , the future of our planet and the protection of the environment, the right to vote and the right of every American to express their opinion in our democracy, ”Pelosi said.
Vacancy before the elections
At the end of September, Donald Trump, during a briefing, nominated lawyer Amy Connie Barrett, a supporter of conservative views, for the position of a member of the US Supreme Court.
Barrett, 48, who served as a judge for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana), opposes abortion and disapproves of the health care reform that Barack Obama initiated.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden then asked the Senate not to approve Barrett's candidacy until the November 3 elections.
According to him, "The US Constitution is drafted in such a way that voters have only one opportunity to influence the appointment to the Supreme Court."
Barrett took the place of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away on September 18.
Ginsburg was known for her anti-Trump views.
In particular, she accused the incumbent head of the White House of inconsistency.
Trump, in turn, called such statements Ginsburg "extremely inappropriate."
It is worth noting that it is not customary in the United States for chief justices to publicly declare their political preferences.
According to radio station NPR, Ginzburg, a few days before her death, expressed a desire for a judge to be appointed in her place by the new president.
"Solid Conservative Majority"
Analysts agree that the Senate’s confirmation of Barrett as Chief Justice is "Trump's big political victory."
“In this matter, the current head of the White House began to act quickly and decisively, realizing that any delay is like death.
The Republicans supported him in this, "said Valery Garbuzov, director of the Institute of the USA and Canada, in a conversation with RT.
An expert on the United States, political scientist Malek Dudakov adheres to a similar position.
“There are now six Republican appointees in the Supreme Court and only three from Democrats.
A solid conservative majority has formed.
Trump was able to appoint three judges in one term, a major achievement.
Many heads of the White House did not succeed in this even in two terms, "Dudakov said in an interview with RT.
With a Republican majority, Garbuzov said, the Supreme Court "will tend to make decisions in line with conservative rather than liberal values, as the Democrats would like."
“If a law is recognized as constitutional or unconstitutional, various liberal initiatives may fail,” the analyst said.
At the same time, Garbuzov noted that the attacks of the Democrats on Barrett and Trump in connection with her approval "are made rather out of despair."
“Pelosi comes out with his 'accusatory' statements, because there is nothing more to be done.
Democrats simply don't know which side to approach Trump in order to discredit him.
At the same time, the appointment of supreme justices is always the prerogative of the current president, who appoints the person who is closer to him in his views.
Democrats nominate liberals, Republicans nominate conservatives.
This is the raison d'être of the Supreme Court, which plays a certain stabilizing role, ”he said.
U.S. Supreme Court
Reuters
© Andrew Kelly
According to Dudakov, Pelosi's statements "are more like demagoguery."
“The Democrats simply could not find more compelling arguments, so they seized on her conservative religious views and began to scare the Americans that they would take away insurance from everyone, ban abortions, return the 1970s.
In fact, all this, of course, will not happen.
The Supreme Court tries not to reconsider its early decisions, which just cover the entire spectrum of these issues, ”the expert explained.
Pelosi was referring to the Supreme Court's ability to rule on electoral laws, Dudakov clarified by claiming that Barrett's allegation would "threaten the right to vote."
“It is known that the Democrats are in favor of complete liberalization of the entire electoral process.
They want any person to come to vote without identification, so that everyone can get massive ballots.
And any attempts by Republicans to limit these efforts Democrats call infringement of the rights of voters.
In fact, there is no prejudice here.
Republicans are trying to ensure that the elections are fair, so that people vote in person, so that they receive ballots by identification, ”the expert explained.
"Will take the side of the Republicans"
But most of all, Democrats fear that if Biden wins with a slight advantage, Trump could theoretically achieve a revision of the voting results in his favor thanks to the support of the Supreme Court, Garbuzov said.
“If the vote count is delayed, such a scenario is the most likely.
It will obviously take more than one day to count the votes.
If something goes wrong and the process drags on, as in 2000, the Supreme Court will come into play, which can side with the Republicans, ”the analyst said.
Recall that the Supreme Court can play a role if the US decides to challenge the results of the presidential elections for any reason.
Such a case occurred in 2000, when the Supreme Court stopped a recount in Florida.
Then the election results in this traditionally vacillating state determined the outcome of the entire presidential race.
As a result, Republican George W. Bush became the president of the United States.
It is worth noting that Trump himself did not rule out a similar scenario in the upcoming elections.
According to Malek Dudakov, the approval of Barrett as the supreme judge of the United States "will be beneficial to the Republicans."
“Republican voters, for whom the question of the presence of conservative judges in the Supreme Court is one of the most important and significant, will rally and mobilize.
In addition, it will do Trump a favor during the election, when it is the opinion of the Supreme Court that can determine who won.
And here the conservative majority of the court is likely to make a decision that will be positive for Trump, "the expert concluded.