On Monday night, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh, a 53-year-old current judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to join the Supreme Court.
“What matters is not a judge’s political views, but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require,” Trump said when making the announcement at the White House. “I am pleased to say I have found without doubt such a person.”
The president went on to call Kavanaugh “one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time.”
“Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials,” Trump added. “Throughout legal circles, he is considered a true judge’s judge.”
President Trump Announces the Nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court https://t.co/rVMTOMpurr
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 10, 2018
Kavanaugh – an ideological conservative — attended Yale and Yale Law, and over the course of his career, has clerked for two federal appellate judges, worked as an aide for George H.W. Bush, and clerked for Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. He’s been on the D.C. Circuit since 2006.
MORE: Pres. Trump names Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court pick. https://t.co/jbAYw4gqGr pic.twitter.com/zdufpwgpZx
— ABC News (@ABC) July 10, 2018
According to The New York Times, the road to nomination for Kavanaugh will not be easy, “His long record of legal opinions and his work in fierce partisan battles is likely to offer Democrats plenty of ammunition for tough questions.”
The few Senate Democrats who Trump invited to the White House for the announcement declined to attend. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, also kept her distance.