WASHINGTON – Samuel Alito took his place on the Supreme Court on Tuesday after winning Senate confirmation, a personal triumph for the son of an Italian immigrant and a political milestone in President Bush’s campaign to give the judiciary a more conservative cast.
The 58-42 Senate vote was largely along party lines as Democrats registered overwhelming opposition to Bush’s choice for retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, whose rulings have helped uphold abortion rights, affirmative action and other legal precedents of the past 50 years.
Washington Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell both voted against Alito’s confirmation.
Bush hailed Alito as “a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench.”
“It is a seat that is reserved for few but that impacts millions,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist moments before the Senate sealed Alito’s place in history as the nation’s 110th justice.
Alito, 55 and a veteran of 15 years on the appeals court, was sworn in about an hour after the Senate’s vote in a low-key ceremony at the Supreme Court building. Chief Justice John Roberts, Bush’s first nominee for the high court, administered the oath of office.
Alito’s confirmation has been a certainty for days, and all Republicans except Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island voted for him. Only four of 44 Democrats voted in favor of confirmation, the lowest total in modern history for an opposition party.
“There is no consensus that he will allow the court to perform its vital role in continuing the march of progress toward justice and equal opportunity,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who led a final attempt to derail the nomination that instead exposed Democratic divisions.
Roberts was confirmed by a far wider margin, 78-22, late last year, replacing the late William Rehnquist.
Republicans were unanimous in voting for Roberts, and Democrats split evenly, 22 in favor and 22 opposed.
Democrats viewed Roberts as one conservative replacing another; in contrast, they and other groups see Alito as a Reagan-era conservative replacement for a moderate justice whose opinions kept the court centered.
Bush has long said he hoped to appoint members of the Supreme Court in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
The two men are among the court minority that has voted to overturn the landmark 1973 court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
