The US Senate has confirmed Indian American jurist Neomi Rao to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the second-highest court in the nation.
Rao fills the seat on an influential court left vacant by Justice Brett Kavanaugh after his ascension to the Supreme Court.
Rao is the first Indian American woman to serve in this role. She will join Justice Sri Srinivasan, who also serves on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
Senators voted 53-46 on Rao's nomination. No Democrats voted for Rao, who ran into controversy over writings on sexual assault and minorities.
Rao, who serves as Trump's regulatory czar, was grilled by Democrats and Republicans during her hearing about controversial college writings including a 1994 opinion piece for The Yale Herald in which she appeared to argue that women are partially to blame for sexual assault.
Rao wrote at the time that if a woman "drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was a part of her choice."