Samuel A. Alito Jr. After several weeks of at times contentious deliberation in the , the United States Senate confirmed Judge  , Jr. to the Supreme Court with 58 votes in favor and 42 against. Only one  , of Rhode Island, voted against confirmation. Four  , including former of West Virginia, voted for confirmation. Alito was sworn-in later in the day. With the Bush Administration facing poor approval ratings following the withdrawal of Miers, Senate Democrats put forth a strong offensive to the confirmation of Alito. They questioned Alito extensively of his record on abortion, exercise of executive authority, his opinions on various legal issues while studying at  and his membership in the group there. Following the Judiciary Committee's party-line vote approving Alito, efforts were spearheaded by ranking Judiciary Committee member Sen. ( -MA ) and Sen. (-MA ) to filibuster Alito's confirmation. However, the motion to end debate on Alito ended with a 72-25 cloture vote; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid ( -NV ) acknowledged that a filibuster was not a realistic option to stop Alito's confirmation. Alito is the second judge to be appointed and confirmed to the Supreme Court by President Bush. His first appointee, Judge  , was confirmed by the Senate in the autumn of 2005. Following the death of Chief Justice  , Roberts was immediately selected to fill Rehnquist's post. Alito earned a bachelor's degree in law from Princeton University, and did his graduate work at . Most of his bench experience has come at the , where he has served as a justice since 1990, when President George H.W. Bush nominated him for the post. He follows current Supreme Court justice  as the second Italian-American member of the high court. Senator (-NY ) told the AP that the United States would "be better and stronger and more unified if we were confirming a different nominee, a nominee who could have united us more than divided us". Senator ( -RI ) said he is concerned with Alito's "philosophy of the Constitution [and] his great effort of many years to expand presidential power at a time when there are real serious questions about the powers the president has". Senator (-PA ), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said there are no doubts about Alito's "qualification in terms of education, professional career and his service on the court of appeals." Related News 
Samuel A. Alito Jr. After several weeks of at times contentious deliberation in the , the United States Senate confirmed Judge Samuel A. Alito , Jr. to the Supreme Court with 58 votes in favor and 42 against. Only one Republican , of Rhode Island, voted against confirmation. Four Democrats , including former of West Virginia, voted for confirmation. Alito was sworn-in later in the day. With the Bush Administration facing poor approval ratings following the withdrawal of Miers, Senate Democrats put forth a strong offensive to the confirmation of Alito. They questioned Alito extensively of his record on abortion, exercise of executive authority, his opinions on various legal issues while studying at Princeton University and his membership in the group there. Following the Judiciary Committee's party-line vote approving Alito, efforts were spearheaded by ranking Judiciary Committee member Sen. ( D-MA ) and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA ) to filibuster Alito's confirmation. However, the motion to end debate on Alito ended with a 72-25 cloture vote; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid ( D-NV ) acknowledged that a filibuster was not a realistic option to stop Alito's confirmation. Alito is the second judge to be appointed and confirmed to the Supreme Court by President Bush. His first appointee, Judge John Roberts , was confirmed by the Senate in the autumn of 2005. Following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist , Roberts was immediately selected to fill Rehnquist's post. Alito earned a bachelor's degree in law from Princeton University, and did his graduate work at . Most of his bench experience has come at the , where he has served as a justice since 1990, when President George H.W. Bush nominated him for the post. He follows current Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia as the second Italian-American member of the high court. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY ) told the AP that the United States would "be better and stronger and more unified if we were confirming a different nominee, a nominee who could have united us more than divided us". Senator ( D-RI ) said he is concerned with Alito's "philosophy of the Constitution [and] his great effort of many years to expand presidential power at a time when there are real serious questions about the powers the president has". Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA ), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said there are no doubts about Alito's "qualification in terms of education, professional career and his service on the court of appeals." Related News Sister links
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Samuel A. Alito
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Republican
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Princeton University
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-MA
D-MA
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John F. Kerry (D-MA
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John Roberts
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William Rehnquist
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Antonin Scalia
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Charles Schumer (D-NY
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Arlen Specter (R-PA
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