Almost 25 years after serving as a clerk to then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist, John Roberts was sworn in Thursday to take the place of his former mentor as chief justice of the United States.
"The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and a kind heart," said President Bush during the White House swearing-in ceremony.
"All Americans can be confident that the 17th Chief Justice of the United States will be prudent in exercising judicial power, firm in defending judicial independence and, above all, a faithful guardian of the Constitution."
Thursday's ceremony brought to an end the 10-week campaign by the White House to win confirmation for Bush's first Supreme Court nominee.
The Senate approved Roberts, the youngest chief justice since John Marshall, by a margin of 78 to 22, with half of the chamber's Democrats voting nay.
"I will try to ensure, in the discharge of my responsibilities, that, with the help of my colleagues, I can pass on to my children's generation a charter of self-government as strong and as vibrant as the one that Chief Justice Rehnquist passed on to us," Roberts said after being sworn in.
Long before the final vote to confirm Roberts, lawmakers and interest groups already were looking toward the high court's second vacancy. Bush has not yet named his choice to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The divided Democratic vote on Roberts' confirmation actually could be beneficial for the party in the next confirmation hearing, said William Marshall, professor at the UNC School of Law.
"I think that having a Democratic split vote is actually probably pretty good for the Democrats," he said.
