Senate Confirms Elena Kagan

The Senate today confirmed Elena Kagan as the 112th justice and fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court, selecting a scholar with a reputation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor, and a liberal legal bent. The vote was 63-37 for President Obama's nominee to succeed John Paul Stevens. Five Republicans joined all but one Democrat (Ben Nelson) and the Senate's two independents to support Kagan.

The soon-to-be justice watched the vote with her Justice Department colleagues in the solicitor general's conference room. She is the first Supreme Court nominee in nearly 40 years with no experience as a judge, and her swearing-in will mark the first time in history that three women will serve on the nine-member court together. (More Elena Kagan stories.)