Pence to be sworn in by Justice Thomas

The Hill ^ | 1/12/2016 | Brooke Seipel 

Vice president-elect Mike Pence will be sworn into office Jan. 20 by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Reuters reported Thursday.

Thomas, a conservative legal icon, was included in the official program for Trump’s inauguration as shared online by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Trump will be sworn in by the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Traditionally, the chief justice swears in the president, and an incoming vice president picks someone else to administer his oath of office.

Thomas, 68, is the second black justice to serve on the Supreme Court and is one of its most conservative members.

Trump is expected to nominate another conservative justice to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died nearly a year ago.

Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in by liberal Justice John Paul Stevens in 2009 and liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor in 2013.