Politico reported<\/a>, “Unless multiple Republican senators are absent, a highly unlikely scenario, Barrett has the votes to be confirmed without Pence breaking a tie. Fifty-two GOP senators are expected to support Barrett\u2019s final confirmation.”<\/p>\nVice President Mike Pence will not preside over the Senate chamber tonight for the vote unless he is needed. Right now, he is campaigning in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Several Republican senators have shared their enthusiasm this morning about the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a woman of unquestionable character and integrity, the presence of which is essential to our nation as the confidence of the court itself is in the balance,\u201d Utah Senator Mitt Romney said in a Senate speech Monday morning during the final debate on Barrett.<\/p>\n
Romney also said that he hopes Barrett will be able to help \u201cthe division and contempt for others that is growing among many of our citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n
The confirmation comes after Democrats held the Senate floor overnight in protest. Democratic leaders asked Republicans to hold off on confirming a new justice until after the election, as set in the previous precedent, but they continued.<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old Barrett would secure a conservative court majority for the foreseeable future, potentially opening a new era of rulings on abortion, gay marriage and the Affordable Care Act. A case against the Obama-era health law is scheduled to be heard Nov. 10.<\/p>\n