Conservative federal judge John Roberts, President George W. Bush's first nominee to the Supreme Court, won US Senate confirmation with bipartisan support on Thursday as the 17th chief justice of the United States.
The vote was 78-22, with 22 of the 44 Democrats and the Senate's one independent joining all of the chamber's 55 Republicans in backing the 50-year-old Roberts.
Roberts, who was to be sworn in at 3 pm (1900 GMT) at the White House, will be the youngest chief justice in two centuries and is positioned to lead the court in the lifetime post for decades - helping shape the American way of life on matters from civil rights to abortion rights.