Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters
Judgment Day turned into a shining moment for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Today Judge Sotomayor won confirmation from the U.S. Senate on a sweeping 68-31 vote. Nine Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the 55-year-old federal appeals court judge. Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and only the third female to sit on the nation’s highest court.
Republican opponents insisted Sotomayor was too liberal. Supporters defended her as an impartial jurist who would be an asset to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his remarks after the confirmation, President Obama praised his nominee and the Senate’s decision: “And with this historic vote, the Senate has affirmed that Judge Sotomayor has the intellect, the temperament, the history, the integrity and the independence of mind to ably serve on our nation’s highest court.”
“These core American ideals — justice, equality, and opportunity — are the very ideals that have made Judge Sotomayor’s own uniquely American journey possible. They’re ideals she’s fought for throughout her career, and the ideals the Senate has upheld today in breaking yet another barrier and moving us yet another step closer to a more perfect union.”
Sotomayor will be sworn in as the 111th U.S. Supreme Court justice by Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday.
