Judge Amy Coney Barrett is set to become the ninth justice on the Supreme Court following a final vote Monday. On Monday evening, with just eight days until Election Day, the Republican-led Senate is expected to confirm her to the Supreme Court, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court and marking a major victory for President Donald Trump.
Monday’s vote is expected to play largely along party lines, though at least one Republican will add her name to the “nay” column. Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, who joined her Democratic colleagues during a Sunday evening procedural vote, has confirmed she will vote against Barrett’s nomination, citing the closeness to the upcoming election as well as the fact that her own party had blockaded President Barack Obama’s pick in 2016 to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia eight months before the election. Speaking Sunday, she said “because this vote is occurring prior to the election, I will vote against the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” which she said was “being fair and consistent,” according to Fox News. Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who also crossed party lines Sunday, said that she will vote in favor of Barrett’s nomination.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Barrett’s nomination has been shrouded in controversy, largely due to its proximity to the Nov. 3 election, with many Democrats arguing that whoever wins the Oval Office should be the one to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Despite these concerns, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted that “the Senate is doing the right thing.” Speaking Sunday after the Senate voted to advance her nomination, McConnell “we’re moving this nomination forward and, colleagues, by tomorrow night we will have a new member of the United States Supreme Court.”
Barrett served as a clerk for Scalia and had been Trump’s pick for a seat on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals. She was also considered for the 2018 Supreme Court vacancy, which was ultimately handed to Brett Kavanaugh.
Barrett’s confirmation vote is scheduled to take place sometime after 6:30 p.m. ET Monday, according to WHIO TV 7, most likely around 8 p.m. A number of cable networks, including Fox News and CNN, are expected to broadcast the vote live. Following her confirmation, according to CNN, Barrett is expected to be sworn in by the president at the White House in an outdoor ceremony at 9 p.m., Monday. Among the first cases Barrett would hear as a Supreme Court justice would be a case concerning the LGBTQ community and religious freedoms as well as a case that will decide the future of the Affordable Care Act.
