Barrett confirmed to US Supreme Court in Trump pre-election triumph

[WASHINGTON] The US Senate confirmed conservative jurist Amy Coney Barrett as the Supreme Court's newest justice on Monday, delivering a landmark and controversial win for President Donald Trump just eight days before the election.

The deeply divided chamber voted 52 to 48, largely along party lines in the Republican-controlled Senate, making Judge Barrett the third Trump nominee to reach the high court and cementing a six-to-three conservative majority.

Republican lawmakers broke into applause as the tally was read out, and the White House is also expected to celebrate the confirmation in the final run-up to the November 3 election, in which more than 60 million Americans have already voted.

AFP