US election LIVE updates: Amy Coney Barrett confirmed as Supreme Court judge as Trump holds rally in Pennsylvania

Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed as the next US Supreme Court judge.

The move will be celebrated by Republicans and President Donald Trump and deplored by Democrats who have fiercely opposed her nomination.

The 48-year-old federal judge’s ascent to the high court locks in a 6-3 conservative majority on the court for the foreseeable future.

This could open a new era of rulings on the Affordable Care Act, abortion access and even the results of the presidential election.

The court is set to hear a challenge to the Obama-era Affordable Care Act on November 10, just one week after the election.