The US Senate has confirmed former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state, handing a major boost to US President Donald Trump as he builds his cabinet.
Mr Tillerson, 70, had come in for severe criticism from Democrats who warned that his business approach and lack of government experience would hurt America's standing in the world.
But he was confirmed by a vote of 56 to 43, with four Democrats joining all 52 Republicans voting in favour.
Mr Trump earlier said he would urge Senate Republicans to invoke a rule change to force a simple majority vote on his Supreme Court nominee if Democrats block his choice.
With some Democrats questioning Mr Trump's choice of federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch, the president said he would not want congressional gridlock to interfere with Mr Gorsuch.
He spoke at a meeting with interest groups who will support his choice of Mr Gorsuch.
Mr Trump was asked whether he would urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the so-called "nuclear option" to change the rules to make it easier to confirm him.
"Yes, if we end up with the same gridlock we've had in Washington for longer than eight years; in all fairness to President (Barack) Obama, a lot longer than eight years," Mr Trump said.
"If we end up with that gridlock, I would say, 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,'" he added.
Mr Trump said it would be "an absolute shame if a man of this quality" was blocked by Democrats and to avoid that eventuality, "I would say it's up to Mitch, but I would say, 'Go for it."
He also said he wants the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to go through an "elegant" and "dignified" confirmation process.
"We want to have him go through an elegant process as opposed to a demeaning process, because they're very demeaning on the other side, and they want to make you look as bad as possible," Mr Trump said of Mr Gorsuch, referring to the Democrats.
Mr Gorsuch will, if confirmed, restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights.
The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the US Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia.
The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Mr Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee.
Caitríona Perry: US Supreme Court explainer
US Supreme Court: Ultimate arbiter of US law
Under the US Constitution, Supreme Court nominations require Senate confirmation.
Mr Schumer said on the Senate floor that if Mr Gorsuch cannot meet the same standard that Republicans insisted upon for Mr Obama's Supreme Court nominees - 60 votes in the Senate - "then the problem lies not with the Senate, but with the nominee."
"The answer should not be to change the rules of the Senate, but to change the nominee to someone who can earn 60 votes. Sixty votes produces a mainstream candidate," he added.
The senator said that while Mr Trump campaigned as someone who would "be for the working man and woman," he has chosen a Supreme Court nominee who "sides with CEOs over citizens."
In early January, Mr Schumer raised the possibility of Democrats fighting to keep the seat vacant rather than let the Senate confirm Mr Trump's nominee.
Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Mr Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run."
Mr Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the US's highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades.
He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W Bush in 2006.
Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Mr Trump said Mr Gorsuch's resume is "as good as it gets".
Mr Trump, who took office on 20 January and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country.
"Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous disciple, and has earned bipartisan support," Mr Trump told an audience that included Mr Scalia's widow.
Meanwhile, the US Senate Judiciary Committee voted to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general , sending President Trump's pick to be the nation's top law enforcement officer to the full Senate for a final vote.
The role got a higher profile on Monday night when the Republican president fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to enforce his executive order temporarily banning all refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
Ms Yates was a holdover from the Obama administration.
Mr Sessions, a 70-year-old senator from Alabama is a close Trump ally since the early days of his presidential campaign.
