There Are Once Again 9 Justices on High Court

In what the AP calls the culmination of a decadeslong coordinated effort by a constellation of conservative groups, fueled by tens of millions of dollars from wealthy anonymous donors, to tilt the high court farther to the right, Amy Coney Barrett was on Monday night sworn onto the Supreme Court. Hours after the Senate confirmed her, Justice Clarence Thomas administered the Constitutional Oath to Barrett before a crowd of about 200 gathered for a celebratory event on the South Lawn of the White House, the AP reports. "This is a momentous day for America," President Trump declared at the event. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had earlier told senators they should be proud, noting that those who opposed Barrett "won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come."

For her part, Barrett declared that "it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences" and promised to "do my job without any fear or favor." She is expected to take the judicial oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony Tuesday at the court to begin participating in proceedings. Trump has made it a priority to appoint conservative judges who appeal to white Christian evangelicals. "We’ll appoint more conservative judges and justices," he promised a month before Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. "We will protect religious liberty, defend the lives of the unborn, uphold free speech and safeguard the Second Amendment and your right to keep and bear arms. So important, right?" The AP has more on the mysterious millions behind the push to get Barrett on the court. (More Amy Coney Barrett stories.)