Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to Supreme Court amid widespread outcry over sexual assault allegations

The Senate votes 50-48 in favour of Donald Trump’s second nominee to the court

Brett Kavanaugh has been been sworn in as a US Supreme Court justice after a highly charged confirmation process in which he was accused of sexual assault.

At a passionate hearing last month, Mr Kavanaugh denied allegations levelled against him by psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford that he assaulted her while they were both at high school in 1982.

In the days since, scores of protesters have descended on Capitol Hill, doubts have been raised over Mr Kavanaugh’s religious convictions, and thousands of law professors have written a letter opposing his nomination.

None of this has stopped him from being confirmed to the US’s highest court, which is now expected to swing to the right for a generation.

Protesters shouted “Shame! Shame! Shame!” in the gallery as Senators were repeatedly interrupted before the vote was confirmed 50-48 by Vice President Mike Pence.

Another group of protesters stormed towards the doors of the nearby Supreme Court building with raised fists. Police stood guard at the doors.

Inside the Capitol, Senator Steve Daines was not present because his daughter was getting married in Montana but he would have voted “yes”. His Republican colleague Lisa Murkowski had announced her preference as “no”, but did not formally cast her vote out of respect for the party and because it would have made a difference in the final vote tally.

Mr Kavanaugh is Donald Trump’s second nominee to be confirmed to the court and the first one in history to be publicly accused of sexual assault.

A former federal judge, he becomes the 114th person to serve on the court and joins the sitting eight justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Mr Gorsuch was also an appointment of Mr Trump’s, but his confirmation process was timid compared to Mr Kavanaugh’s, which Republican Senator Susan Collins called a “dysfunctional circus”.

Critics immediately pointed out Mr Kavanaugh would not have been nominated with only 50 votes last year.

In 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took the “nuclear option” and eliminated the need for a 60 vote minimum for appointments to pass the Senate.

The saga of the last few weeks began when Senator Dianne Feinstein, through House member Anna Eshoo, received a letter from Dr Ford detailing her allegations.

The psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California had originally asked to remain anonymous, but ultimately felt a “civic duty” to come forward after the letter was leaked to the media, she said during her testimony to the Senate last month.

Washington insiders have indicated the Senate Judiciary Committee was worried about the “optics” of so many Republican men interrogating Dr Ford about the sexual assault claims.

Sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell was appointed to ask questions on the Senators’ behalf.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Ms Mitchell was chosen for objectivity and experience supervising attorneys who handle cases involving child molestation, sexual assault and computer crimes against children in Arizona’s most populous county.

Protests outside of the hearing room in the halls of the Capitol building and in front of the Supreme Court continued during the testimony.

Dr Ford detailed the floor plan of the house where the alleged assault took place, spoke of a polygraph examination she voluntarily took, and of the death threats she and her family have gotten since coming forward.

Her demeanour appeared calm, though she noted she was “terrified”.

Mr Kavanaugh testified later that day and he appeared the exact opposite during an emotional, fiery retort to Dr Ford’s allegations in his opening statement.

During the first part of his statement, Mr Kavanaugh held back tears as he spoke of the fallout from the allegations on his family and young child.

That gave way to what appeared to be “disgust” with Democrats as he contorted his face in anger and had heated exchanges with senators Patrick Leahy and Amy Klobuchar.

An impassioned statement from Republican Senator Lindsay Graham in opposition to having an FBI investigation was overruled by a dramatic last-minute moment of reaching across party lines by colleague Jeff Flake.

The Senate Judiciary Committee ultimately deciding to ask the Trump administration for a week-long, “limited scope” FBI investigation into Dr Ford’s allegations.

Another point of contention was Mr Kavanaugh’s characterisation of his drinking habits. He repeatedly said “I like beer” during his testimony and claimed he never “blacked out” from drinking as he refuted Dr Ford’s allegations.

One of his Yale classmates, Chad Ludington, said Mr Kavanaugh was lying about that. He called the nominee a “belligerent and aggressive” drunk. There were reports of more women coming forward to accuse Mr Kavanaugh, however, none had come forward publicly.

Mr Trump ordered the FBI investigation and indicated in off-the-cuff remarks it “wouldn’t bother [him] at all” if the FBI had interviewed Dr Ford and Mr Kavanaugh in a “thorough” investigation.

By the time the FBI had compiled its findings in a report on Friday, Democrats had hit out at the bureau and the president for not interviewing several key witnesses.

Throughout the last few weeks Americans were reminded of the hearings of Anita Hill in 1992.

Just four days after Ms Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against then-nominee and now Justice Clarence Thomas were levied, an FBI investigation was launched. The Senate then heard from more than 20 witnesses including Ms Hill.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters openly wept at the decision of the final vote – many of them survivors of sexual assault. There was also anger too.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker told The Hill newspaper: “This, I think, really has been just a painful experience for all of America.”

Mr Kavanaugh has said he will be hiring all female law clerks in his office.