President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, has been sworn in following weeks of rancorous debate.
The Senate earlier backed his nomination by 50 votes to 48.
Mr. Kavanaugh had been embroiled in a bitter battle to stave off claims of sexual assault, which he denies.
But after an 11th-hour investigation by the FBI into the allegations, enough wavering senators decided to support the nomination.
His confirmation hands Mr. Trump a political victory ahead of key mid-term elections in November.
Ahead of the vote, hundreds of people protested against Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination at the US Capitol in Washington.
During the vote, other protesters shouted “shame” from the public gallery and Vice-President Mike Pence had to call for order to be restored.
Mr. Kavanaugh’s appointment is for life and he will strengthen conservative control of the nine-judge court, which has the final say on US law.
The 53 year old was sworn in on Saturday evening in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the constitutional oath and retired justice Anthony Kennedy – whom Mr. Kavanaugh is replacing – administered the judicial oath.
Protesters had gathered outside the court and at one point some ran up the steps and banged on its ornate doors. Other demonstrators climbed on the nearby statue of justice.
Mr. Trump sent out a tweet of congratulations and later spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, saying Mr. Kavanaugh had withstood a “horrible attack by the Democrats” and that women were “outraged” at what had happened to the nominee.
Mr. Trump also said he was “100% certain” that the woman who had accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford, had named the wrong person.
The upper house is split 51-49 in favour of the Republicans and the vote was largely along party lines. In the end, there was indeed a two-vote margin, the closest nomination vote since 1881.
Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey investigates missing journalist
Turkish prosecutors have opened an investigation into the disappearance of a missing Saudi journalist.
Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has not been seen since Tuesday, when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Turkish sources quoted by Reuters and the Washington Post say they believe he has been killed inside the consulate.
They did not give any evidence for the claim, nor suggest how he was killed.
Saudi officials have not yet commented, however a source at the consulate – also quoted by Reuters – described the accusations as baseless.
The source added that a security team had arrived in Istanbul to investigate Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Earlier, Prince bin Salman told Bloomberg News that Turkish authorities were welcome to search the building.
Turkish media said prosecutors were now looking closely at the case, although this may be a widening of an inquiry begun on Tuesday.
The two unnamed sources said on Saturday that the initial assessment of police was that Mr. Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate.
“We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate,” one of the sources told Reuters.
A source quoted by The Washington Post said the journalist was killed by a 15-member Saudi team sent “specifically for the murder”.
The BBC says that, if confirmed, the state-sponsored murder on Turkish soil of a high-profile Saudi dissident would worsen already strained relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Turkey has taken the side of Qatar over its blockade by Saudi Arabia and other neighbours, and Turkey’s rapprochement with Iran has riled the government in Riyadh.
Reuters earlier quoted the Turkish ruling party as saying the investigation would be comprehensive and that the government’s sensitivity about the case was at the “highest level”.
The AK Party said Mr. Khashoggi’s whereabouts would be uncovered.
