Barrett sworn in as Supreme Court justice

Judge Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as a justice of the US Supreme Court by another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, on Monday night as President Donald Trump looked on.

Barrett, 48, filled the vacancy of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month at the age of 87, and gives the court a 6-3 conservative tilt. She is Trump's third appointment to the court, and one that highlighted a deep political divide in the country.

At the swearing-in ceremony at the White House, Justice Thomas, currently the longest-serving member of the court, administered one of the two oaths of office that justices have to take, according to a White House official.

Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the separate judicial oath at the court on Tuesday, the court said in a statement.

"This is a momentous day for America, for the United States Constitution and for the fair and impartial rule of law," Trump said before the swearing-in. "The Constitution is the ultimate defense of American liberty. The faithful application of the law is the cornerstone of our republic.

"On this October evening, and it is so beautiful, the first lady and I welcome you to the White House to bear witness to history," the president said.

Trump called Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, "one of our nation's brilliant legal scholars, and she will make an outstanding justice on the highest court in the land".

Trump also said, "our country owes a great debt of thanks to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell". The Kentucky Republican shepherded the nomination through the Senate.

"It is highly fitting that Justice Barrett fills the seat of a true pioneer for women, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Trump said. He also noted that Barrett is the "very first mother of school-aged children to become a Supreme Court justice. Very important."

The swearing-in came a month after Barrett was introduced in a Rose Garden ceremony by Trump that was linked to a coronavirus outbreak that preceded Trump's own infection and treatment for COVID-19.

Barrett also joins the court eight days before a hotly contested presidential election that has sharply divided the country.

She was confirmed by the Republican controlled Senate hours earlier by a 52-48 vote, as Democrats were unable to stop the confirmation. One Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, joined the chamber's 47 Democrats in voting against the nomination.

The vote marked the first time in 151 years that a Supreme Court justice was confirmed without a single vote from the minority party. It also was the closest high court confirmation to a presidential election, which is on Nov 3.

Barrett is the 115th justice of the Supreme Court and the fifth woman to sit on its bench.

Vice-President Mike Pence's office said Monday he wouldn't preside at the Senate session unless his tie-breaking vote was needed after Democrats asked him to stay away when aides tested positive for the coronavirus.

Barrett's swearing-in means she likely will be able to hear cases as early as next week, including a challenge to the Affordable Care Act — known as Obamacare — that Democrats say will upend the healthcare of 20 million Americans.

Democrats fought against the advancement of Barrett's nomination just before Election Day, after the Republican-led Senate in 2016 refused to hold hearings for then-President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, nearly eight months before that year's election.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, labeled the nomination process a "cynical power grab".

"My colleagues, there is no escaping this glaring hypocrisy. As I said before, no tit-for-tat convoluted, distorted version of history will wipe away the stain that will exist forever with this Republican majority and with this Republican leader," he said in the Senate on Sunday.

Agencies contributed to this story.