Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett, heralding new conservative era for Supreme Court

The Republican-led Senate voted narrowly Monday to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, ending an acrimonious confirmation process and handing President Donald Trump a political victory days before the election.

Barrett, 48, a federal appeals judge, will fill the seat left vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who died Sept. 18, and she is expected to propel a sharp ideological turn on the court. Democrats made numerous unsuccessful attempts to slow or derail the vote but ran headlong into a Republican Party determined to cement a 6-3 majority.

Some legal experts say it will be the most conservative Supreme Court since before World War II. The addition of Barrett could solidify the right’s advantages on issues like campaign finance and gun rights while threatening progressive issues like abortion rights, voting rights and health care regulations.

The vote was 52-48, with only Republicans voting “yes” and Democrats unifying in opposition. Just one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a tough re-election race, voted “no.”

After the presiding officer, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called the vote, a round of applause broke out in the chamber as Republican senators bumped fists to celebrate.

Barrett, who was confirmed 30 days after Trump announced her nomination, is the first nominee in the modern era to be confirmed with no votes from the opposition party.

Barrett's nomination drew enthusiasm from Republicans, who have made the courts their priority in the Senate, and anger from Democrats, who warned them not to fill a vacancy in an election year, particularly after GOP leaders refused to do so under a Democratic president in 2016.