Justice Clarence Thomas administers Supreme Court oath to Amy Coney Barrett at White House

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the official constitutional oath to Judge Amy Coney Barrett in a ceremony at the White House on Monday evening after she was confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court by the Senate in a 52-48 vote.

Thomas administered the Constitutional Oath to Barrett before a crowd of about 200. Barrett will be able to participate in the court after taking the judicial oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony at the court Tuesday.

Barrett told those gathered that she learned through the “rigorous confirmation” that “it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences.” She vowed, “I will do my job without any fear or favor.”

Barrett is President Donald Trump’s pick to fill the vacancy left behind by the late liberal icon, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

With a Republican majority, Barrett was approved Monday night following a quick confirmation process over the objections of Democrats, who say her nomination is too close to the U.S. election in November.  

The 48-year-old’s ascension to the Supreme Court tips the balance to a 6-3 conservative majority for years to come.

Trump celebrated the confirmation with a swearing-in event at the White House after the late-evening vote. Thomas, who administered the oath at the event, has long been viewed as one of the more conservative justices on the high court, along with Barrett's mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. 

Earlier Monday, Trump told reporters that the would-be celebration honoring Barrett will not be a large affair, “just a very nice event,” according to Politico. There were about 200 people in attendance on the South Lawn of the White House, according to the Associated Press.

“This is something to be really proud of and feel good about,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a rare weekend session Sunday ahead of voting. He scoffed at the “apocalyptic” warnings from critics that the judicial branch was becoming mired in partisan politics and declared that "they won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come.”

Republicans in the Senate had been pushing for a quick vote before the Nov. 3 election and ahead of the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which the Supreme Court is set to hear on Nov. 10. Many questions from Democrats during the confirmation hearings centered on this topic, with fears that Barrett would be a vote to undo the “Obamacare” law — which provides more than 20 million Americans health insurance coverage.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official group photo at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

During testimony earlier this month, Barrett presented herself as a judge with deeply held religious beliefs, but vowed to approach each case with an “open mind.” A devout Catholic, the appellate judge promised to bring no personal agenda to the high court.

Barrett has remained neutral on many issues, asserting it's against judicial code to say whether she would overturn the Affordable Care Act or how she would vote on other politically fraught issues, including abortion.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who presided over the confirmation hearings, said previously that Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a signal to young conservative women who oppose abortion that there’s “a seat at the table for them.”

“She’s going to the court,” Graham said Oct. 13. “This is the first time in American history that we’ve nominated a woman who’s unashamedly pro-life and embraces her faith without apology.”

Senators questioned Barrett’s views on racial equity and presidential power in a bid to determine how she would rule on cases. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois probed whether her strict adherence to originalism means a president could not “unilaterally deny the right to vote” based on race, noting restrictions on mail-in ballots being erected in several states before Nov. 3.

Barrett has said she is an "originalist" when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, indicating that she believes that the meaning of law does not change over time. She agreed there are "many laws" that protect the right to vote, including the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, but stopped short of a blanket statement: "I really can't say anything more," Barrett said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked what she thinks of Trump's view that he can pardon himself. Barrett said during the confirmation hearings that a president's ability to pardon himself has never been tested in court and the question calls for “legal analysis.”

She said, “It's not one that I can offer a view.”

Barrett told senators she can set aside her Catholic beliefs and has done that since her confirmation as an appeals court judge in 2017. She declined to say whether she would recuse herself from any election-related cases involving Trump.

“Judges can’t just wake up one day and say I have an agenda — I like guns, I hate guns, I like abortion, I hate abortion — and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world,” Barrett told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.