Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as a judge on the U.S, a Victory for Trump

Despite Democratic opposition to a process deemed "illegitimate" so close to the presidential election, the Republicans, with a majority in the upper house, all but one voted for the president's nominee. 

"This is a historic day for America," Trump said during the swearing-in ceremony at the White House, which followed.

The president-elect, smiling, praised the "impeccable qualifications," "generosity of faith," and "golden character" of the 48-year-old Catholic anti-abortionist mother of seven.

For her part, she promised to keep her personal convictions out of her work as a judge. To do otherwise "would be a dereliction of duty," she said.

The magistrate will join the Temple of American Law on Tuesday, where she will take the seat left vacant by the death of progressive and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18.

The Supreme Court, the arbiter of major social issues in the United States, will thus have six conservative judges out of nine, including three appointed by Donald Trump.

This undeniable success could galvanize voters on the religious right, who are grateful to the former real estate tycoon for appointing, during his term, more than 200 judges who are true to their values throughout the federal judicial system.

Regardless of the outcome of the November 3 election, this record will be enduring because these positions are "for life" and Donald Trump has chosen judges who are generally young.

"Hypocrisy"

Speaking one last time before the vote, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham saluted a "historic" day and praised an "impressive academic".

Amy Coney Barrett is "brilliant, qualified," applies the law and is not involved in politics, said Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has imposed an extremely tight timeline on the confirmation process.

His Democratic counterpart Chuck Schumer denounced their "hypocrisy". For him, Judge Barrett was not chosen for her qualifications, but because she "has radical right-wing views," such as on abortion, civil rights or the environment.

He emphatically expressed his "sadness" at what he described as "one of the darkest days in American history.

Seconds after the vote, the youngest Democrat in Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, tweeted her support for an idea that is circulating more and more on the left: increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to counterbalance the influence of Donald Trump's appointees.

"All options must be on the table," said Senator Elizabeth Warren, also a Democrat left-wing figure.

"Not a fan of this unpopular scenario, however, Donald Trump's rival Joe Biden did not completely rule it out. If he is elected, he will appoint a commission to decide.

"Worst President"

A favourite in the polls, Joe Biden focuses most of his speech on COVID-19, which took more than 225,000 lives in the United States, a heavy toll for which he blames his rival.

"Donald Trump is the worst president - the worst person - to lead us through this pandemic," he said on Monday during a surprise visit to Pennsylvania that his rival was crisscrossing the country at the same time.

In front of reporters, Donald Trump, on the defensive, had to swear that he "had not" capitulated to the virus, after ambiguous comments from one of his relatives. "We are undoubtedly turning the page," he said.

The day before, statements by the White House chief of staff reinforced the feeling that the administration was powerless, even overwhelmed by the situation. "We're not going to control the pandemic, we're going to control the fact that we can get vaccines," Mark Meadows told CNN.

The Democrats used these words to accuse the Republican administration of giving up in the face of a virus that continues its ravages, with nearly 90,000 contaminations on Saturday, a record.

Faced with his supporters, Donald Trump preferred to play the economic card, summing up the election to a choice between "a super fast reconstruction with Trump or a depression with Biden".

Source : AFP