Justice Amy Coney Barrett Sworn in at the White House

US President Donald Trump applauds next to Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump hosted a swearing-in ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Monday night, about an hour after the Senate voted to confirm her.

“She is one of our nation’s most brilliant legal scholars and she will make an outstanding justice on the highest court in our land,” Trump said.

The final Senate vote was 52 -48.

The White House held the swearing-in ceremony on the South Lawn as the South Portico of the White House was decorated with lighting and large American flags.

“It is highly fitting that Justice Barrett fills the seat of a pioneer for women, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Trump said at the ceremony.

Trump noted that Barrett was the fifth woman to serve on the Supreme Court and the first mother of school-aged children to sit on the court.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving justice currently on the Supreme Court, presided over the ceremony.

Trump thanked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsay Graham (R-SC) for their support in the confirmation process.

In attendance were Barrett’s husband Jesse, a few members of her family, Republican members of Congress, and conservative allies who helped fight for her confirmation.

Trump praised the family.

“People have been watching them and loving them, and they’re watching right now at home in Indiana,” Trump said. “Thank you very much.”

Barrett thanked the president and the Senate for nominating and confirming her to the Supreme Court.

“It’s a privilege to be asked to serve my country in this office and I stand here tonight, truly honored and humbled,” she said.

She noted that a senator’s role was to pursuit policy and that her job would be to resist her policy preferences.

“Federal judges don’t stand for election,” she said. “Thus, they have no basis for claiming that their preferences reflect those of the people.”

She voted to serve as an impartial judge on the Supreme Court.

“A judge declares independence, not only from Congress and the President but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her,” she said.

After the ceremony, President Trump and Barrett ascended the stairs of the South Portico and paused and stood in front of the crowd of supporters as they applauded. They were later joined by First Lady Melania Trump and Jesse Barret.

US President Donald Trump (2nd L) and US First Lady Melania Trump stand with Judge Amy Coney Barrett (2nd R) and her husband Jesse M. Barrett after she was sworn in as a US Supreme Court Associate Justice during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House October 26, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.