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On this vote the yeas are 68, and the nays are 31.
The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor of New York
to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States is confirmed.
Today the Senate made history in
confirming the first Hispanic, the third woman,
and the third person of color to our Supreme Court.
In the floor just a few minutes ago, we also made history
by confirming someone as qualified as anyone has
ever been to go on that court.
In just a few days, the doors of the Supreme Court will
open for the new Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
When those doors open, the door of opportunity is
going to open a little wider in America.
Each generation gets a chance to open that door a little wider.
Today, in the Senate, we used that opportunity to give
Sonia Sotomayor a chance to serve her country at the
highest levels of our court.
This is the American dream.
It's the dream that we all speak about when we campaign.
What we've done now has made it real.
For Hispanic Americans, today the mantel over
the Supreme Court that says equal justice under law
becomes one step closer to reality.
And I think it's truly a great day for
the United States Supreme Court.
I think it's a great day for the law.
I think it's a great day for justice.
I think it's a great day for every young woman out there
that says yes I can, I can do it if I work hard.
Here we have somebody with a distinguished career as
a trial court judge, as a prosecutor, as a Court of Appeals judge.
More experience on the federal court than anybody who's
been nominated or confirmed in decades.
What makes the leaders of the Court are their experiences,
and their powers, personalities, and she's got it.
So, she's not going to be just another vote,
she's not just going to be another voice,
she's going to be a real leader that will
lead this Court back to the mainstream.
I think she's going to be a wonderful Supreme Court Justice.
I think our nation is going to be really well served,
and that the Supreme Court is really lucky to have her.
It is the promise of America fulfilled.
It is a promise that we move one step closer to
making this the more perfect union.
It is the coming of age in America, and she will be,
because of her intellect and experience, I believe,
one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices that
we will see in the history of Court.