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U.S. GOVERNMENT 1: New Chief Justice Confirmed

On Thursday, John Roberts was confirmed to be the 17th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Winning approval with a solid majority in the Senate, Roberts was confirmed with a 78-22 vote, according to a CNN report. He will be sworn in by John Paul Stevens, the senior associate justice.

Roberts was supposed to fill the space left by the soon-to-be retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. But after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist on September 3, Roberts was named by President Bush to take the court's leading position.

Twenty-two Democrats voted against his confirmation.

"I hope I am proven wrong about John Roberts," said Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts. Senator Hillary Clinton also voted against Roberts.

Fifty-year-old Roberts and his assistant watched the voting take place from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Roberts' wife watched the vote from the Senate gallery, according to the report.

Now that Roberts has been confirmed, many are wondering who will fill the empty spot left by Justice O'Connor's retirement. Sources have confirmed that the search for the next justice has focused on women and minority candidates.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan expressed his faith in President Bush's next choice.

--Written by Pota Papakos

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