Thread by @majorityfm

#AMquickie

We have a new justice on the Supreme Court.

After a blitzkreig confirmation process and a hasty swearing-in ceremony, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump successfully installed Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court on Monday night.

The Senate voted 52-48. Every Democrat, Independent, + Susan Collins voted against Barrett, but it did nothing to McConnell’s ironclad majority.

After the vote, Trump put together a slapdash swearing-in ceremony on the South Lawn to get Barrett on the bench as fast as possible.

It’s hard to fully grasp what this news means.

Some of the first cases Barrett sees will be related to elections in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and she could also be part of a ruling if election results next week get challenged.

If Trump does try to steal the election with the courts, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett will likely be solid votes in his favor, further bolstering the conservatives’ 6-3 majority even if Chief Justice John Roberts decides to flip and, you know, not do fascism.

A strong indication that this is exactly what would go down: earlier yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that Wisconsin would not have to continue counting absentee ballots postmarked by election day but arrived late, setting up a precedent for throwing out votes all over the place

And even if Biden does manage to take power, Barrett might be able to rule on a case that pertains to Roe V. Wade before he’s even in office.

Meanwhile, the Democrats still, STILL seem fully opposed to fighting back or taking steps toward reform.

Biden told reporters he wouldn’t consider term limits for SCOTUS members. “It’s a lifetime appointment. I’m not going to attempt to change that at all.”

There you have it