Barrett takes 1st of 2 oaths to join Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — Barrett, at White House, takes 1st of 2 oaths to join Supreme Court, will join bench after taking 2nd oath Tuesday.

Barrett, 48, will be able to start work Tuesday, her lifetime appointment as the 115th justice solidifying the court's rightward tilt.

"This is a momentous day for America," Trump said at a primetime swearing-in event on the South Lawn at the White House. Justice Clarence Thomas administered the Constitutional Oath to Barrett before a crowd of about 200.

Barrett told those gathered that she believes "it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences." She vowed, "I will do my job without any fear or favor."

Monday's vote was the closest high court confirmation ever to a presidential election, and the first in modern times with no support from the minority party. The spiking COVID-19 crisis has hung over the proceedings. Vice President Mike Pence declined to preside at the Senate unless his tie-breaking vote was needed after Democrats asked him to stay away when his aides tested positive for COVID-19. The vote was 52-48, and Pence's vote was not necessary.

"Voting to confirm this nominee should make every single senator proud," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, fending off "outlandish" criticism in a lengthy speech. During a rare weekend session he declared that Barrett's opponents "won't be able to do much about this for a long time to come." Barrett, a federal appeals court judge from Indiana, is expected to take the judicial oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony Tuesday at the court to begin participating in proceedings.

The Republican senators, most wearing masks, sat in their seats as is tradition for landmark votes, and applauded the outcome, with fist-bumps. Democratic senators emptied their side, heeding party leadership's advice to not linger in the chamber.

A Rose Garden event with Trump to announce Barrett's nomination last month ended up spreading the virus, including to some GOP senators who have since returned from quarantine.

Agencies via Xinhua