Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to US Supreme Court

The US Senate has confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in a victory for President Donald Trump a week before the general election.

Mr Trump’s fellow Republicans voted 52-48 to approve the judge, overcoming the unified opposition of Democrats.

The 48-year-old is expected to take the oath of office at the White House on Monday night.

Her appointment seals for the foreseeable future a 6-3 conservative majority on the top US judicial body.

Only one Republican, Senator Susan Collins, who faces a tough re-election battle in Maine, voted against the president’s nominee in Monday evening’s vote.

Judge Barrett is the third justice appointed by the Republican president, after Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

The federal appeals court judge from Indiana fills the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon who died last month.

Democrats had argued for weeks that it should be up to the winner of the 3 November election to pick the nominee.