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The "nuclear option" has been triggered by US Senate Republicans to confirm President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Key points:
- The US Supreme Court's youngest judge is expected to fulfil a conservative agenda
- The appointment follows efforts by Democrat senators to stall
- Neil Gorsuch has pledged to uphold judicial independence
To secure Justice Gorsuch's place on the court the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed his nomination with a simple majority.
With the support of just three senators from the Democratic minority, Republicans voted 54-45 in favour of Justice Gorsuch to fill a 14-month court vacancy after the death of Antonin Scalia.
The unilateral rules change — which had become known as the "nuclear option" — ends a near-century-old practice of requiring a super majority of 60 in the 100-member chamber for such an appointment.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said of the rules change that won approval: "It will make the cooling saucer of the Senate considerably hotter, and I believe it will make the Supreme Court a more partisan place."
The Senate vote was the final act in a corrosive political confrontation that began with majority leader Mitch McConnell's decision immediately after Justice Scalia's death to hold the seat open for the next president to fill.
The Republicans refused to convene hearings for former president Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, angering Senate Democrats who refused to vote in favour of Justice Gorsuch.
The outcome is a major congressional victory for Mr Trump after a string of disappointments — including the Republican bid to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
"As a deep believer in the rule of law, Judge Gorsuch will serve the American people with distinction," Mr Trump said in a statement.
Justice Gorsuch is expected to join a conservative-leaning voting bloc of justices, making five on the nine-member court.
The veteran of Denver's 10th US Circuit of Appeals, whose conservative rulings make him an intellectual heir to Justice Scalia, will be sworn in on Monday.
He will quickly begin confronting cases of consequence — including one involving separation of church and state that the judges will take up in less than two weeks.
Justice Gorsuch pledged during his confirmation hearings to be his own man, but uphold the independence of the judiciary.
At 49, Justice Gorsuch is decades younger than several of the other justices, two of whom are in their 80s.
Justice Gorsuch could take part in his first private conference on April 13, where justices decide whether to hear cases.
Prospective cases involve gun rights, voting rights and a Colorado baker's refusal to design a cake for a same-sex couple's wedding.
ABC/AP
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, donald-trump, law-crime-and-justice, united-states
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