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Senate approves Alito, 58-42

The Senate at midday Tuesday approved the nomination of Samuel A. Alito, Jr., to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. The vote was 58-42, with all but one of the Senate’s 55 Republicans voting for him. Only four of the Senate’s 44 Democrtats voted for him.

Alito won six more votes of approval than Justice Clarence Thoaas did in 1991 — the last nomination that created major controversy in the Senate.. The 52-48 vote in Thomas’ favor marked the lowest level of support in the Senate for any of the current Justices. Thomas, however, did gain more Democratic support: 11 votes, compared to Alito’s four. Alito fell 20 votes short of the favorable votes to confirm Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., in September.

Immediately after the Senate vote Tuesday, it became obvious that the White House was treating the entire process as a political affair and not a judicial matter, involving a separate branch of government. The White House press secretary was telling reporters — apparently, even before the Senate voted — about all of the arrangements for Alito to begin his service. That was before the Supreme Court had made any announcements through its public information office. The White House publicity operation said that Alito would take the oath from Chief Justice Roberts at the Supreme Court later in the day, and that Alito would also take an oath at a White House ceremony on Wednesday.

Further demonstrating that Tuesday’s events were political rather than judicial in nature, Judge Alito and his family reportedly watched the final vote while sitting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. The White House also was saying that Alito would attend the President’s State of the Union message at the Capitol on Tuesday night. In recent years, only a single member of the Court, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, has attended the State of the Union gathering in the House chamber, with some Justices regarding attendance at such an event of political theater to be inappropriate for a sitting judge.

(The Supreme Court waited until after Alito actually had been confirmed before issuing its own announcement of the arrangements, and the oath-taking. See the post above.)