President Trump said Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court and her subsequent taking of the constitutional oath Monday was a "momentous day," as she she vowed to serve "without any fear or favour."
- But as Republicans applauded the third conservative justice in four years, many Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) warned of consequences at the rush to confirm a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with progressives leading calls to expand the court.
What they're saying:
Pelosi said in a statement, "Eight days from Election Day, after 60 million Americans have already cast their ballots, President Trump and the GOP Senate have committed an act of supreme desperation by jamming through a Supreme Court justice — all so that they can achieve their years-long campaign to destroy Americans' health care.
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor, "Voting to confirm this nominee should make every single senator proud. ... Our Democratic colleagues keep repeating the word illegitimate as if repetition would make it true. We're a constitutional republic. Legitimacy does not flow from their feelings."
Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an emailed statement, "The rushed and unprecedented confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as Associate Justice to the Supreme Court, in the middle of an ongoing election, should be a stark reminder to every American that your vote matters."
The Trump campaign said in a statement that Barrett is "now the third solid, conservative Justice appointed to the Supreme Court by the President and she will apply the Constitution and not turn the Court into a super legislature."
Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee tweeted, "Senate Republicans just pushed through a Supreme Court justice who will help them take away Americans' health care in the middle of a pandemic. For them, this is victory. Vote them out."
The House Judiciary GOP said in a Twitter post, "Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed. Happy Birthday, @HillaryClinton!"
Progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) both tweeted, "Expand the court."
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted, "Democrats, mad. Constitution, protected. Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed."
Go deeper: Amy Coney Barrett's immediate impact
Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
