WASHINGTON – Amy Coney Barrett has taken the first of two oaths she needs to officially join the Supreme Court.
The Senate confirmed Barrett’s nomination on a largely party line 52-48 vote shortly before Justice Clarence Thomas administered the Constitutional Oath to Barrett at an outdoor White House ceremony.
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Barrett is the first Supreme Court justice to be confirmed so close to a presidential election.
A conservative, Barrett fills the vacancy created by the September death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who led the court’s liberal voting bloc.
Chief Justice John Roberts is set to administer a second oath -- known as the judicial oath -- to the former federal appeals court judge at a private ceremony at the court on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old Louisiana native will then be able to take part in the high court’s work. Her addition likely will solidify a 6-3 conservative shift on the nation’s highest court.