TMZ.com

Barrett was just sworn in as the 115th Supreme Court justice in a ceremony at the White House.

She gave a quick speech, promising to carry out her duties independently from the presidency, congress and her own private beliefs.

Barrett then walked a flight of stairs with Trump and they appeared to have a chat as they mugged for cameras.

There were no eleventh-hour surprises -- Amy Coney Barrett got the votes she needed to be confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which is now staunchly conservative.

President Trump's pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed by the Senate Monday with a final tally of 52 to 48 ... with Senator Susan Collins as the only Republican to join every Senate Democrat in voting no.

The confirmation comes just 8 days before Election Day and after Barrett's nomination was fast-tracked despite an outcry from Democrats, who think the American people should have a say in the makeup of the highest court in the land.

Senate Democrats huffed and puffed while unable to halt Barrett's confirmation ... and when all was said and done, a majority of the Senate overlooked recent precedent and determined ACB was deserving of a spot on SCOTUS.

Justice Clarence Thomas is expected to swear-in Barrett at the White House during tonight's outdoor ceremony.

As you know ... Barrett's confirmation gifts conservatives a 6-3 majority on the High Court, where she's likely to serve for decades as she's only 48 years old.

Get ready ... abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ rights, voting rights and tons of other fundamental issues and policies are now squarely in the crosshairs of the justices.

Trouble may be just around the corner in this volatile election/pandemic year, because businesses coast-to-coast are starting to board up in anticipation of election unrest.

Washington D.C. is starting to shutter itself ahead of what might turn out to be a violent day and/or night. Check out these photos taken Monday in the business district of Downtown D.C. -- just a stone's throw from the White House. As you see, lots of different buildings and shops in the area are nailing up wooden boards to cover windows.

Construction crews are on hand doing their thing as passersby look on at an ominous scene -- folks don't usually do this unless they expect people to break in, like in a riot, for example.

D.C. isn't alone. Beverly Hills is bracing for unrest and the pricy shops on Rodeo Drive will also be boarded up ahead of November 3rd.

Phil Collins is still NOT feeling Donald Trump's rally playlist ... he wants the Prez's campaign to quit pumping "In The Air Tonight" through its PA speakers.

Here's the deal ... Trump's campaign blared Phil's hit song at his Des Moines rally earlier this month -- and at several others since then -- and the singer is royally pissed.

Phil's legal team fired off a cease and desist letter to Trump's camp, obtained by TMZ, claiming the song choice makes it seem like Phil's fully onboard the Trump train, which he's not.

In the legal doc, Phil says he wants no affiliation whatsoever with Trump or his campaign ... and he rips the President for seemingly making light of the coronavirus pandemic with the song choice.

Phil says he doesn't condone trivializing COVID-19 and says he's worried Trump's gonna stain his reputation if he keeps playing the song at rallies.

He also claims Trump pulled the same stunt back in June at the infamous Tulsa rally, and didn't respond to an earlier cease and desist.

Big Boi is looking out for some fearless Atlanta poll workers braving the pandemic to help folks cast their ballots early ... he hooked 'em up with free grub.

The Outkast rapper made sure poll workers weren't serving their community on an empty stomach, teaming up with Postmates and World Central Kitchen to serve them over 150 hot meals.

As you can see, Big Boi used the food delivery app to send over several trays full of pan-seared chicken and shrimp tacos. It looks like a pretty nice reward for working the polls, a much higher risk task this year than ever before.

As you know, the coronavirus pandemic is making it tougher for polling locations to find poll workers, but these fine folks are helping keep our democracy running.

President Trump's setting up the Black community for success, but they've gotta pull themselves up by the bootstraps ... that's basically what Jared Kushner's now suggesting.

The president's aide, son-in-law, made the remarks Monday morning while discussing Trump's campaign working with Ice Cube. On "Fox & Friends" he claimed Cube was an example of the "groundswell of support" for POTUS in the Black community.

Kushner attributed that support to Trump's policies "that can help people break out of the problems that they're complaining about."

The word "complaining" is already pretty objectionable phrasing. But, then he added this ... "He [Trump] can't want them to be successful more than they [the Black community] want to be successful."

In other words, if Black folks aren't doing well, that's on them ... not the President.

Kushner went on to claim the Black community is realizing Trump is working for them and delivering results, and they want to get on board.

Lil Pump is taking a cue from 50 Cent, and throwing his support behind President Trump ... saying he doesn't wanna pay a dime more in taxes, as Joe Biden's proposing.

The rapper chirped up this weekend in pretty clear terms, posting a pic of him shaking hands with DT -- clearly photoshopped -- and a ringing video endorsement.

As for why ... it seems to be in line with what Fiddy voiced just last week when he endorsed Trump as well -- they're not down to fall into a new tax bracket under Biden's plan. If he wins, JB has said he would try to upend Trump's tax law and get folks who make more than $400k to chip in their fair share -- way more than what they're paying now.

Of course, both 50 and Pump fall into that category, and neither seem willing or eager to give up any more of their wealth to Uncle Sam.

It seems 50 didn't mean it after all -- or he's on the fence. He later said "F*** Trump" when his ex, Chelsea Handler, called him out on 'The Tonight Show.'

She said she'd be willing to give him another go in the bedroom if he changed his tune ... and sure enough, he did. When it comes to LP, though, he sounds a little more serious.

Here's another thing ... Pump is actually catching a ton of flak right now for his endorsement, but more so for his use of the n-word in his video (and in general).

Voters in Philadelphia turned waiting in long lines to cast their ballot into a fun experience ... by mixing in some "Cha Cha Slide."

The good times went down in Philadelphia, as a large group of voters waiting for early voting in the city Saturday passed the time with some group dancing ... moving in unison to the hit by DJ Casper usually reserved for wedding receptions.

The viral video's more than just a random feel-good moment though -- it's part of the work being done by Nelini Stamp of the Working Families Party, who's also the campaign director for Election Defenders.

Nelini and the nonpartisan coalition's goal is to assure that voters are "staying safe and healthy outside of polling places across the country and bringing them some joy."

More importantly, it's aimed to combat voter suppression and intimidation by bringing "Joy to the Polls" ... which kicked off this weekend in Pennsylvania for the inaugural Vote Early Day.

You've probably heard it a million times -- this is the most important election of our lives -- and it's probably the most expensive too ... based on the millions it's costing to try to keep voters safe.

Get this ... the estimated cost in L.A. County for this year's general election is $91.7 million -- $33 MILLION more than 2016's price tag of $58.5 mil.

We're told the added cost is the result of the massive amounts of products needed to clean and sanitize voting devices after each voter ... along with all the soap, sanitizer and PPE provided for voters and workers.

There are also added operational costs in making voting locations socially-distant compliant ... and special care for disabled voters or those with health vulnerabilities.

Houston's experiencing a similar surge in general election costs this year compared to 2016 -- $33.2 million up from just $4.06 mil ... according to a spokesperson for Harris County.

Among the new expenses -- providing PPE including masks, gloves, and a "finger condom" to all voters ... because all the voting stations have electronic touch screens.

An NYPD cop wanted to make his presidential preferences known, and he's Team Trump all the way.

The incident went down in Flatbush where you hear the cop on the loudspeaker repeatedly say, "Trump 2020." Someone starts filming the cop and challenges him to say it again ... he does, and it triggers the guy who's shooting the video, calling the cop a "f***ing fascist."

The officer is undaunted ... calling the videographer a "tough guy" and urging him to "post to your Facebook/Twitter."

Here's the thing ... NYPD police officers are prohibited from publicly endorsing candidates while on duty.

It's unclear what, if any action, the NYPD will take.

Here's a strange scene right out of the Big Apple about a week and change out from Election Day -- hundreds of people lined around city blocks to vote in person at the first opportunity available.

The first day of early, in-person voting started Saturday in NYC ... and a WHOLE LOT of New Yorkers were eager to get out the vote the good old-fashioned way -- namely, standing in line for hours in chilly weather, just to cast their ballot and make sure it went through.

The good news ... many of them (we'd say the vast majority) are wearing face coverings and appear to be social distancing as best they can out there. The weird part ... just seeing the throngs of bodies insistent on voting in person, when voting by mail is an easier option and has actually been encouraged.

It's interesting ... the sheer number of people who seem dead set on exercising their right in this fashion -- especially during a pandemic, and especially in a place that used to be the epicenter of said pandemic. In our minds, it speaks to a couple of things happening.

For one, President Trump has waged a war against mail-in voting (and voting in general) ... constantly sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the process, suggesting voter fraud is rampant and even stripping down the Post Office from the inside out, via a lack of funding and a new Post Master General -- who's implemented a lot of what Trump's demanded.

We've seen reports of mailboxes being yanked out of the ground and sorting machines sidelined ... not to mention long delays in mail delivery, so people have reason to worry.

Barack Obama really should consider taking up stand-up comedy in retirement, because the dude's got some great jokes about President Trump ... especially when he's in Florida.

44 was at a rally Saturday in Miami, where he was campaigning for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. While addressing a crowd of drive-in supporters, he lobbed some zingers at DT's expense -- likening him to the infamous/reckless "Florida Man" who makes headlines every now and then ... oftentimes for absurd things.

Welp, not even Florida Man would do some of the stuff Trump has done in office -- like nonstop tweeting, threatening critics with prison time and countless other bizarre acts -- at least according to BO. He says we wouldn't tolerate this type of stuff from virtually anyone else in our lives, so why take it from the leader of our country?

Barack also talked about the façade of being tough -- something he says Trump is none of deep down, but something Joe actually is ... since he's been there and done that on the biggest stage. Another point Obama made -- if elected, folks wouldn't have to constantly hear about Joe and Kamala in office, unlike now ... where Trump runs the news cycle daily.

Kanye West and Joe Rogan finally had their recorded sit-down, touching on lots of different topics ... including the fact Ye's willing to make a pitstop on his way to the White House.

Ye appeared on Joe's hugely popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience" Friday -- and it just went online Saturday ... running nearly 3 hours long. There's a lot to unpack, but what stood out to us right away -- Kanye saying he's down to run for Governor of California.

Naturally, Joe opened the show asking Kanye why he was running for President, which led to Ye recounting the fact that he was inspired in the shower around 2015 -- something he's mentioned before -- and how he feels a higher power calling him to serve and lead.

While discussing his political journey, Kanye said he was open to running for Gavin Newsom's job if it helped him get his feet wet ... but insists the presidency is his ultimate goal, even if that means trying again in 2024, and even if it means running as a Dem.

Another interesting nugget in all that political chatter ... Kanye claims Oprah actually discouraged him from running when he first said he would at the 2015 VMAs.

That just scratches the surface of what else they got into (politics and otherwise) -- in fact, we encourage you to go listen for yourself, 'cause it was truly a fascinating episode.

Kanye also talked medication, his mental health, religion, abortion, the music and entertainment industry, family and so, so many other things. He and Joe also discussed race, of which Kanye made a lot of interesting, and perhaps controversial, points. Namely, he believes much of the way white Americans treat African-Americans is inherently racist and meant to keep Black people down, even if they appear like advocates on the surface.

To make his point, he brought up the argument that Disney has essentially erased what a true "Black Panther" is ... because the Internet is now flooded with their movie, which Kanye thinks was actually meant to be a distraction by a "white man" and a "white company."

He also brings up Black History Month -- and the idea that Americans constantly putting "Black" in front of occasions and moments like that actually serve as reminders to Black people that they were once considered lesser-than ... which he doesn't think is healthy or helpful. Basically ... he's sick of qualifying Black achievements and progress, and wants to redefine how we talk about it as a whole. Ye also re-invoked the name of Harriet Tubman, but this time ... he had more time to flesh out his thoughts and put it in context (ish).

Still, some might find his train of thought a bit backwards ... almost in the vein of his "slavery was a choice" remark, which also caught him some heat at the time. Watch his full thoughts and judge for yourself.

President Trump just racked up another vote in his column ... his own.

Trump hit the polls early Saturday in West Palm Beach, FL, telling his supporters, "I voted for a guy named Trump."

Trump was a longtime New York voter, but he changed his residence last year to Mar-a-Lago, in Florida. He has beef with New York -- especially NYC -- because he says the Big Apple has treated him unfairly.

Trump tweeted, "JUST VOTED. A great honor!"

Trump said in-person voting was preferable to mail in, but remember -- he has voted absentee twice this year.

Danny Trejo wants voting rights restored to felons who've paid their debt to society, but while they're on the inside ... he thinks Kim Kardashian's doing more to help than President Trump.

We got the actor -- who spent years in various prisons back in the day -- at Trejo's Cantina in Hollywood, and asked him if prisoners should be allowed to vote from behind bars, or while on probation or parole.

Danny says ex-inmates should be allowed to vote, along with people being held in county jails before they've been convicted. He's staunchly in favor of states -- like Florida has done -- restoring voting rights to folks who complete their prison bids.

As for prison reform's impact on the election -- Danny scoffs at President Trump tooting his own horn. Despite, the fact POTUS signed the First Step Act into law ... Trejo doesn't think he deserves all the credit.

President Trump's got himself a costar at his latest rally in Florida -- one of his supporters who can't stop flashing what looks like the white power hand symbol in clear view of cameras.

Look closely at the video from Trump's Friday rally at The Villages in Central FL ... the man seated in the crowd over the President's left shoulder repeatedly made the 'ok' symbol ... commonly associated now with the white power movement.

What's more ... the guy flashing it is also wearing a black hat with yellow print, which some folks are claiming matches the logo for the Proud Boys.

As you know ... Trump refused to condemn white supremacy during the first Presidential debate, and instead told the alt-right group Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by."

The guy positioned behind the President certainly wasn't shy about using the hand symbol as he raised it almost every time there was an ovation. POTUS never acknowledged him, and it's possible he never saw the gesture being made.

President Trump's talking like he and Dr. Anthony Fauci are still on friendly terms -- despite each jabbing the other lately -- but that's news to Fauci, who says he has zero access to the Oval Office.

Dr. Fauci essentially said he's been bumped, telling NBC's Chuck Todd he no longer has the President's ear -- even though the coronavirus pandemic is ramping up again over most of the country.

The good doc says Trump is now listening more to Scott Atlas, the neuroradiologist and conservative think tank member the President added to the task force this summer.

Unlike what we've heard in recent weeks, Fauci did NOT take a shot at Trump for the shift -- watch, he says it more matter-of-factly -- but instead, he's still sharing his knowledge with Vice President Mike Pence and the rest of the Coronavirus Task Force.

He added, Pence relays information to Trump, who hasn't attended a task force meeting in several months. Worth noting ... the country reported at least 75,049 new COVID cases Thursday, the second-highest daily total since the pandemic started.

Great time for a game of telephone.