US President Donald Trump made history on Monday. Eight days before the presidential election, he received permission from the Senate to appoint a new chief justice.
According to American media, it is the first time that a new judge has been allowed to join the highest court in the country so shortly before an election. The president spoke of a “memorable day for America, the US Constitution and the fair and the impartial rule of law.”
Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett succeeds the late Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Supreme Court. She belonged to the progressive camp within the court.
The Democrats had to grind their teeth to see how Trump and his Republicans were able to nominate their own candidate for life at the last minute. 48-year-old Barrett becomes the youngest member of the court and can remain there for decades.
Trump, who is lagging behind in the polls, could put that political victory to fair use. He was sworn in Barrett in a ceremony in the garden of the White House. When the president announced in late September that Barrett was his candidate to become chief justice, he did so at a similar ceremony.
This was later linked to multiple corona infections. The attendees had to wear face masks this time, although Trump and the judge did not find themselves during the swearing-in.
With Barrett’s appointment, the Conservative majority in the Supreme Court grows to 6 to 3. Trump praised his candidate’s intellect and knowledge.
“It is very appropriate for Chief Justice Barrett to take over from a true pioneer for women, Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” the president told his audience. He said that Barrett would be not only the fifth woman in court but also the first mother of school-aged children.