Trump heaps praise on Supreme Court nominee

US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Judge Amy Coney Barrett after nominating her to the US Supreme Court on Saturday.

The nomination capped a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that Trump hopes will provide a needed boost to his re-election effort.

Barrett, 48, a former clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, quickly aligned herself with Scalia's conservative approach to the law.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would fill the seat vacated by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It would be the sharpest ideological swing since Clarence Thomas replaced Justice Thurgood Marshall nearly three decades ago.

She would be the sixth justice on the nine-member court to be appointed by a Republican president, and the third of Trump’s first term in office.