With just eight days until election day and despite attempts at parliamentary roadblocks by Democrats, Senate Republicans easily confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday.
On Sunday afternoon, the Senate voted 51-48 to advance Barrett's confirmation, which opened a final 30 hours of Senate debate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell directed the Senate to work overnight to complete the process by Monday evening. According to CNN, President Donald Trump is expected to swear-in Barrett at a ceremony at the White House at 9 p.m.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was the only Republican Senator set to vote against Barrett's confirmation. The final tally was 52-48.
Meanwhile, Democrats' repeated attempts to delay the process have proven futile. On Thursday, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee chose to boycott a vote that sent the vote to the Senate floor. And since Senate Republicans changed parliamentary rules to prevent the filibuster of Supreme Court nominees in 2017, Democrats have little recourse to further block Barrett's confirmation.
The push to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stands in stark contrast to 2016, when Republicans chose not to hold confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia for more than six months prior to a presidential election, saying that the American people should decide who fills the vacancy.
Barrett's confirmation would give conservative judges a 6-3 voting edge on the court, which could significantly shape policies and precedents for a generation.
