The Republican controlled Senate on Monday evening voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court with a vote of 52 to 48. All Republicans except for Senator Susan Collins voted to approve President Donald Trump’s nominee. All Democrats voted against it. The New York Times explained that, “It was the first time in 151 years that a justice was confirmed without a single vote from the minority party.” Barrett has replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the least experienced judge in at least 30 years. But Mr. Trump, in a ceremony in the Rose Garden that resembled a political rally, said Barrett, “is one of our nation’s most brilliant legal scholars, and she will make an outstanding justice on the highest court in our land.” Barrett was sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas with all participants in close quarters wearing no masks. 

Numerous issues await Barrett on the court in the coming days including rulings on the counting of absentee ballots in battleground states. Next week will also include hearings on cases important to LGBTQ rights and on November 10th the Affordable Care Act is on the agenda. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who aggressively pushed through the confirmation process at record-speed, explained on Fox News that Barrett’s position on the court would be an asset to the Republican Party.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor warned about the dangerous political move to rush Barrett’s confirmation. Mr. Schumer was referring to the fact that Republicans refused to consider President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland to the court more than 200 days before the 2016 election, saying it was too close. Trump then appointed Neil Gorsuch when he was inaugurated. Barrett’s replacement of Ginsburg on the court turned that logic upside down. There is a strong possibility that Republicans may lose control of the Senate in the election, which Schumer alluded to when he said, “My colleagues will regret this for a lot longer than they think.” 

Trump has now appointed 3 justices to the Supreme Court in less than 4 years. That’s one-third of the entire court. One of his appointees, Brett Kavanaugh, just issued an election-related opinion on Wisconsin’s ability to accept ballots. In a 5-3 ruling the court on Monday decided that absentee ballots may not be accepted in the battleground state after 8 pm on Tuesday November 3rd even if they have been postmarked before that date. In his ruling Kavanaugh claimed that including absentee ballots that arrive past 8 pm could, “potentially flip the results of an election.” Justice Elena Kagan countered that, “there are no results to ‘flip’ until all valid votes are counted.” The ruling could have serious repercussions next week for other sta...