Trump boosted by Supreme Court confirmation days from US election

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s struggling reelection campaign received a boost with the confirmation of his latest Supreme Court nominee, tilting the top body to the right and clinching his judicial legacy in a landmark victory for American conservatives.

The Republican-controlled Senate elevated Amy Coney Barrett to the lifelong position in a 52-48 vote, capping a rapid and deeply contentious process that makes her the sixth conservative, and third Trump appointee, on the nine-member court.

“This is a momentous day for America, for the United States Constitution and for the fair and impartial rule of law,” the president, standing alongside Barrett, said before beaming lawmakers and others who had gathered on the South Lawn of the White House.

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Barrett, 48, assures a strong conservative judicial legacy for Trump, who has also been able to appoint dozens of young, right-wing judges to federal courts in his four years in office.

Democrats have fumed over the process that confirmed a justice so close to a presidential election, and warn that Barrett might vote to overturn the landmark 1973 decision that protects abortion rights, or to gut health care provision for millions of Americans.

But Barrett, who took a constitutional oath at a ceremony, said she would keep her personal beliefs and judicial work separate.

“I will do my job without any fear or favor, and... I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences.” 

With eight days until the November 3 election, the confirmation marks an undeniable victory for the president to tout as he barnstorms battleground states in a final bid to claw back ground against Democrat Joe Biden.

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The confirmation during an election “should be a stark reminder to every American that your vote matters,” Biden said in a statement.

It remains to be seen whether the confirmation can be a game-changer for the Republican president, accused by his rival of abandoning the fight against Covid-19 with polls showing voters overwhelmingly disapprove of his pandemic response.

Trump denied any surrender earlier as he landed in swing state Pennsylvania for a trio of rallies and insisted, despite a new surge in infections, that the pandemic is in retreat.

“We’re absolutely rounding the corner,” he said in Allentown.

But the president betrayed his frustration at the health crisis dragging on 

his reelection hopes, with a tweet complaining about media coverage of “COVID, COVID, COVID, all the way to the Election.” 

While Barrett’s confirmation provided a happy distraction for Trump, the virus is ever-present.

More than 225,000 Americans have died, cases are spiking in several states and hopes have dimmed that a trillion-dollar coronavirus relief package could pass Congress before election day.