Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and former Justice Anthony Kennedy on Saturday evening swore Brett Kavanaugh in as an associate justice to the Supreme Court in a private ceremony, The Hill reported.
The ceremony took place only hours after the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh in a narrow 50-48 vote.
The swearing-in was scheduled "so that he can begin to participate in the work of the court immediately," the Supreme Court said in a statement.
“We’re very happy about it. Great decision. I very much appreciate those 50 great votes. And I think he’s going to go down as a totally brilliant Supreme Court justice for many years. Many years. He was chosen for the reason of his temperament, his incredible past, his outstanding years on the court. He just had an outstanding record. A brilliant scholar—totally brilliant scholar. Top,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One of Kavanaugh’s confirmation earlier Saturday.
The Senate vote on Kavanaugh brought an end to a raucous nomination process defined by testimony from a woman who claims Kavanaugh tried to rape her when they were teenagers -- and his fiery rebuttal.
The brutal hearing sparked a supplemental FBI investigation into Kavanaugh's background and a week-long delay of the Senate vote.
The vote was made possible after Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who initially delayed Kavanaugh’s nomination, announced Friday that he would vote to confirm him.