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Who is Justice Clarence Thomas? Here's why Internet is slamming him for Amy Coney Barrett's swearing-in ceremony

Barrett was confirmed by 52-48 vote, along mostly party lines. Surprisingly, Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted against Barrett's nomination

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will administer the swearing-in ceremony of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as an associate justice of the Supreme Court on Monday, October 26, evening. After the voting turned out to be in her favor and she solidified a 6-3 conservative majority on the bench, a senior White House official confirmed.

Barrett was confirmed by 52-48 vote, along mostly party lines. Surprisingly, Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted against Barrett's nomination. The White House will be hosting the swearing-in ceremony on Monday evening for Barrett, though the details have not been officially announced. 

“Justice Clarence Thomas will administer the official Constitutional Oath to Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House tonight,” a senior White House official said. According to a Fox 5 report, Thomas who will be administering the ceremony 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."

As soon as the news made its way to social media, people started reacting to it, as one Internet user said, "Justice Clarence Thomas sat on SCOTUS for almost 30 years barely saying shit, and tonight he'll be swearing in the unfit Amy Coney Barrett. My blood is BOILING." Calling it a "poetic Justice, another one said, "POETIC JUSTICE@JoeBiden was the committee chairman who launched the “high-tech lynching” against then Judge Clarence Thomas. Guess who President @realDonaldTrump asked to swear in new SCOTUS Justice, Amy Coney Barrett tonight? You got it. #SweetRevenge."

Another disappointed Netizen said, "Super disappointed this was pushed through when we couldn’t get the same effort to get a stimulus plan passed. Priorities should be Citizens first Party second!" While another one slammed the judge and wrote, "The least experienced, least qualified judge in modern supreme court history. Never tried a case, never argued a case before SCOTUS, 2 years in law practice, a judge for 3 years. Unbelievable that the highest court is saddled with someone this unqualified"

Who is Clarence Thomas?

Born on June 23, 1948, Clarence Thomas is an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court who was nominated by President George HW Bush and was confirmed by the US Senate to succeed Thurgood Marshall. He is one of the longest-serving member of the court with a tenure of 29 years, 4 days as of October 27, 2020.

In 1990, then-President George Bush nominated Thomas for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Thomas served in the role for 16 months before he filed for the Marshall's seat on the US Supreme Court. His confirmation hearings were harsh and intensely fought after claims of sexual harassment from a law professor. In October 1991, he faced sexual harassment charges by Anita Hill, a law professor who previously worked under Thomas at the United States Department of Education and then at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas's supporters said Hill has fabricated the allegations in order to prevent a Black conservative to enter the Court.

According to a report by The Atlantic, Thomas's reputation, particularly among conservatives, was observed to have significantly increased during President Donald Trump's presidency and the administration appointed many of his former clerks to political positions and judgeships.