WASHINGTON, 1 February 2006 — The US Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito as Supreme Court justice, 58 yes, 42 against, just one day after an attempt by some Democratic senators to block his nomination. Alito, 55, a federal appeals judge from New Jersey who once worked for the Reagan Administration and as a federal prosecutor, became the 110th justice in the history of the nine-member court, replacing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is retiring.
O’Connor, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, went on to become a swing vote on many issues that have divided the court. She has been considered a crucial vote in upholding Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that said abortion is protected as a matter of privacy and could not be outlawed by states.
Alito, during his confirmation hearings, declined to share his views on abortion and said he would approach any cases with an open mind. In a 1985 job application, however, he expressed a personal belief the procedure is not constitutionally protected.
His appointment will give social conservatives a long-sought edge on the nation’s highest court and heighten their hopes of overturning the nation’s landmark abortion rights law.
The final Senate vote on Alito’s nomination was held late yesterday morning. Alito is expected to be sworn into office later in the day at the White House, just hours before President Bush’s State of the Union address. Alito’s confirmation gave President George Bush a major victory to celebrate with his Republican base, at a time when he also faces significant public doubts over the war in Iraq, a recent string of ethical scandals and the constitutionality of domestic spying.
Alito’s supporters in the Senate, as expected, cleared the final roadblock Monday when senators, by a vote of 72-25, decided to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote, rebuffing an attempt by a cadre of liberal senators to talk the nomination to death.
The son of an Italian immigrant and a longtime lawyer, prosecutor and judge, Alito’s confirmation marks the most partisan victory for a high court nominee in modern history.
Alito watched his confirmation from a television in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, where 58 senators in the GOP-controlled Senate voted to back him for the seat on the bench. Alito was quickly sworn in at the Supreme Court before his expected appearance at Bush’s annual State of the Union speech yesterday evening with the White House’s other new Supreme Court judge, Chief Justice John Roberts. Alito will be ceremonially sworn in a second time at a White House East Room appearance on Wednesday.
Alito and Roberts are expected to lead the nine-member Supreme Court into a new conservative era following the retirement of O’Connor, the court’s first female justice and a key moderate swing vote on issues like assisted suicide, campaign finance law, the death penalty, affirmative action and abortion. Liberal Democrats tried and failed to rally support to filibuster Alito on Monday. “It is the only way we can stop a confirmation that we feel certain will cause irreversible damage to our country,” said Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats’ 2004 presidential nominee.
