Sen. Steve Daines celebrated the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Monday night, and joined the president at the White House in Barrett’s swearing in ceremony.
Barrett was confirmed on a near party-line vote of 52-48, with only Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, crossing party lines to vote with Democrats, who have criticized the confirmation process given how the GOP blocked a similar process four years ago.
“Justice Barrett’s qualifications and character are indisputable,” Daines said in a statement following the vote. “She is a brilliant jurist, and as a mother of seven children, she is an inspiration to professional women, working moms and school-aged girls across Montana who can feel certain there is no American Dream that women can’t achieve.”
Barrett’s confirmation was the third of Trump’s presidency and likely tips the Supreme Court to a conservative bend for decades to come. Montana Republicans celebrated the confirmation, including Rep. Greg Gianforte, a candidate in the state’s race for governor.
Gianforte called the high court “stronger” now that Barrett has been confirmed.
“Justice Barrett is a trailblazer with outstanding qualifications and an impressive background, and I look forward to her service on the Supreme Court for decades to come,” Gianforte said. “President Trump continues to reshape the federal judiciary, appointing judges who will uphold our Constitution and who believe that courts don’t make policy but interpret laws.”
While Republicans hailed Barrett’s expeditious confirmation, Democrats criticized the move, calling it a power grab ahead of an election that’s pointing to the ousting of Trump from office and possible Democratic control of the Senate.
Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, the Democratic candidate for governor in Montana, was among the critics.
“Amy Coney Barrett was put on the nation’s highest court because she promised to strike down the Affordable Care Act, gut Montana’s Medicaid expansion program and strip health care coverage for more than 112,000 Montanans – and Greg Gianforte has gleefully cheered her on,” Cooney said.