United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC. © Can Stock Photo / slickspicsUnited States Supreme Court, Washington, DC. © Can Stock Photo / slickspics
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US Senate confirms Judge Brett Kavanaugh

The United States Supreme Court has gone conservative after a controversial nominee has been confirmed.

A divided chamber has confirmed President Donald Trump's nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the nation's highest court. Kavanaugh is replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired from the court this summer. NBC News reported that Kavanaugh was sworn-in as an Associate Justice early Saturday night.

Kavanaugh's confirmation means there is a majority of five justices who have been nominated by Republican presidents, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch. The remaining four Associate Justices, nominated by Democratic presidents, are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The final vote tally was 50-48 in favour. When Vice-President Mike Pence read the result in the Senate chamber, there were cries of "Shame on you!" and "I do not consent" from protestors seated in the gallery, according to NBC. Those protestors were removed from the building. Thousands of additional protestors on both sides of the debate stood outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

President Trump tweeted his congratulations to Kavanaugh after the vote was recorded.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1048668088059584512

The vote in favour of elevating Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is the climax of a bitter confirmation process that included accusations of staunch partisanship as well as allegations of past sexual misconduct. A former high school classmate of Kavanaugh's, Christine Blasey-Ford, had testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her at a house party while they were in high school in the early 1980s. There were additional accusations of inappropriate behaviour as well.

Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations.

The vote to accept Kavanaugh appeared to fall into place Friday afternoon as several senators who had been undecided made their intentions public.

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