JOHN ROBERTS was sworn in last night as the youngest US Chief Justice in 200 years, as a battle neared in Washington over President Bush’s imminent choice of a second Supreme Court nominee.

Mr Roberts, 50, a conservative picked by Mr Bush to replace William Rehnquist, who died on September 3, won Senate confirmation yesterday, after half the chamber’s Democrats backed him. He was confirmed by 78 votes to 22 and takes his post on Monday.

Mr Roberts, who now has the potential to shape the direction of America’s highest court for decades, frustrated many Democrats during his confirmation hearings when he refused to comment on issues that may come become before the court. Although he never divulged how he might vote on such contentious issues as abortion and civil rights, Mr Roberts’s legal brilliance is unquestioned.

Democrats largely decided not to fight his nomination, in order to keep their powder dry for Mr Bush’s next choice.

In replacing Mr Rehnquist with Mr Roberts, Mr Bush was substituting one conservative for another in the finely balanced nine-member court. The next appointment is to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, who announced her retirement in July.

Mr Bush has a difficult choice in replacing Mrs O’Connor, a swing vote on social issues. If he picks a staunch conservative, openly opposed to abortion rights, he will delight his conservative base, shift the court decisively to the right, and reshape it in his own philosophy for a generation.

But the political landscape has changed in recent months, with Mr Bush’s approval rating at a record low, dragged down by continued bloodshed in Iraq, rising oil prices and the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

But if Mr Bush picks a more moderate candidate, his base will mutiny. No issue has been more important to them than how he would use this chance to reshape the court.

If he wants an all-out fight, Mr Bush could name Edith Jones, Michael McConnell or Priscilla Owen, all pro-life judges. Another name in the mix is Harriet Miers, Mr Bush’s White House counsel. She has never been a judge but is also firmly anti-abortion.

Mr Bush is also considering Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney-General, Larry Thompson, the former Deputy Attorney- General, and judges Michael Luttig and Samuel Alito, who would prove less contentious.

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