WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday as he aimed to entrench its conservative control for years to come, but the federal appeals court judge faces a tough confirmation fight in the bitterly divided Senate.

While some Democrats promised a stern effort to block the 53-year-old Kavanaugh - who has served 12 years on the most influential U.S. appeals court - Trump’s fellow Republicans control the Senate by a narrow margin and can ensure confirmation if they avoid defections from their ranks.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace long-serving conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27 at age 81. Kavanaugh became Trump’s second lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest judicial body in his 18 months in office.

Kavanaugh is a well-known figure in Washington and has been involved in some of the biggest controversies of the past two decades. He helped investigate Democratic former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s working for independent counsel Kenneth Starr. He was on Republican George W. Bush’s team in the contentious Florida recount fight in the 2000 presidential election, then served as a senior official in Bush’s White House.

“Throughout legal circles he’s considered a judge’s judge, a true thought leader among his peers,” Trump, who named conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court last year, told an applauding audience in the White House East Room.

“He’s a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. And just like Justice Gorsuch, he excelled as a legal clerk for Justice Kennedy,” Trump added, saying Kavanaugh “deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan support.”

The appointment will not change the ideological breakdown of a court that already has a 5-4 conservative majority, but nevertheless could move the court to the right. Kennedy sometimes joined the liberal justices on key rulings on divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights, a practice his replacement may not duplicate.

Kavanaugh has amassed a solidly conservative judicial record since 2006 on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the same court where three current justices including Chief Justice John Roberts previously served. Some conservative activists have questioned whether he would rule sufficiently aggressively as a justice.

Like the 50-year-old Gorsuch, Kavanaugh potentially could serve on the high court for decades. Trump’s other leading candidates for the post were fellow federal appellate judges Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett.

“My judicial philosophy is straightforward: a judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history, and tradition and precedent,” Kavanaugh said during the ceremony in which he emphasized his family and his Roman Catholic faith.

Kavanaugh survived a protracted confirmation fight after Bush picked nominated him to the appeals court in 2003. Some Democrats accused him of excessive partisanship, and it took three years before the Senate eventually voted to confirm him.

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 Senate majority, and with ailing Senator John McCain battling cancer in his home state of Arizona they currently can muster only 50 votes. Senate rules still leave Democrats with scant options to block confirmation by themselves, though Trump must prevent Republican defections.

U.S. President Donald Trump introduces his Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh (L) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they could carefully vet Kavanaugh before deciding how to vote. Democratic senators serving in Republican-leaning states including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota made similar remarks, though top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer blasted Trump’s pick.

‘RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS’

“In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and healthcare protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block,” Schumer said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier in the day accused the “far left” of “scare tactics” to try to thwart the nomination, called Kavanaugh “a superb choice.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kavanaugh was informed on Sunday night he would be the nominee, adding that “what really tipped the scales was the consistency” the judge had shown on the appeals court. The official said the White House reached out to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings, and that only Democrat Kamala Harris “refused to engage.”

Trump last year appointed Gorsuch, who has already become one of the most conservative justices, after Senate Republicans in 2016 refused to consider Democratic former President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland to fill a vacancy left by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. As a result, Democrats have accused Republicans of stealing a Supreme Court seat. Gorsuch restored the court’s conservative majority.

Kavanaugh worked for Starr, whose investigation of Clinton helped spur an effort by congressional Republicans in 1998 and 1999 to impeach the Democratic president and remove him from office. Kavanaugh in 2009 changed his tune on the Starr probe, arguing that presidents should be free from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and investigations while in office.

Slideshow (10 Images)

Trump defeated Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election and has disparaged both Clintons.

Democrats in the past also have pointed to Kavanaugh’s work for Bush during the 2000 recount fight, a controversy that was resolved only after the conservative-majority Supreme Court sided with Bush over Democratic candidate Al Gore, settling the election outcome.

The new justice can be expected to cast crucial votes on other matters of national importance including gay rights, gun control, the death penalty and voting rights. The court could also be called upon to render judgment on issues of personal significance to Trump and his administration including matters arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia-related investigation and several civil lawsuits pending against Trump.</s>President Donald Trump has announced U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his second U.S. Supreme Court justice pick less than two years into his presidency.In a prime-time announcement in the East Room of the White House , President Trump set the stage for a high-stakes battle over a nominee who lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum have argued could alter the course of the nation's highest court for a generation."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. "I am pleased to say that I have found without doubt such a person. Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court."Kavanaugh, 53, is a Yale Law School graduate who has served on the D.C. Circuit Court for 12 years and was once a former clerk to the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. While Kavanaugh was framed as the more "establishment" conservative pick of the other candidates, various Republicans had phoned President Trump last week to voice their objections over his potential nomination, including a 2011 opinion where he declined to rule the Obamacare health insurance mandate as unconstitutional."Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law," Trump said. "Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers. He's a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time."Democrats, meanwhile, have raised alarm not just over Kavanaugh's conservative bona fides, but one of past academic writings in which he argued presidents "should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office" such as responding to civil lawsuits and investigative inquiries based out of criminal charges. Such a stance could prove relevant if the Supreme Court is ever tasked with deciding the fate of actions in Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, such as an attempt at subpoenaing the president for an interview.Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short told reporters following the president's announcement that the White House hopes to have a confirmation vote on Kavanaugh before October 1st, the start of the court's term.With mere hours left to go before his self-imposed deadline, Trump, who had been consulting with family, friends and advisers this past weekend while in Bedminster, New Jersey, had not made a final decision.Multiple sources told ABC News that as of Sunday, the final four individuals Trump was considering for the vacancy were Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Raymond Kethledge and Thomas Hardiman, all federal appeals court judges.Trump's aides have prepared briefing books and booked television spots for his pick, anticipating that they'd have little time to spare between his decision and the reveal, sources tell ABC News.In the run-up to his announcement, the president had targeted four top contenders from a list of 25 administration-approved judges, former judges and one member of Congress, as curated by Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society and Trump's top Supreme Court adviser.In anticipation of Trump filling the vacancy left by the retiring Anthony Kennedy - widely considered to be the court's "swing vote" - with a judge thought to have more conservative bona fides, many outside advocacy groups are already bracing for what will likely be a contentious confirmation battle.Conservative groups like the Judicial Crisis Network and American Crossroads have each pledged over $1 million in ads encouraging support or opposition to Trump's eventual nominee.Meanwhile, liberal groups like NARAL Pro-Choice, Protect our Care and Demand Justice are pouring millions into ad campaigns of their own, drawing attention to what a conservative-leaning justice might mean for abortion rights, in particular.Liberal groups have geared up to protect Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that upheld women's rights to an abortion, from being overturned."They know that they will not get a justice nominated if the American people know this is what they want to do," NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said in a call with reporters last week. "What we need to know is that anyone coming onto the Supreme Court is going to uphold the law of the land and particularly a woman's right to decide what happens to her own body."The issue has even prompted moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, to speak out, telling Stephanopoulos last week that a candidate who would overturn Roe v. Wade "would not be acceptable," because it indicates an "activist agenda" she didn't want to see in a judge.Kavanaugh avoided any direct reference to specific issues in front of the court in his remarks in the East Room, but said that he will be visiting Capitol Hill Tuesday to assure senators that he will commit to "keep an open mind in every case.""I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution," Kavanaugh said. "I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case."Kavanaugh also emphasized in his remarks his belief that judges "must be independent" and "interpret the law, not make the law," a position that could be directed at those who fear Kavanaugh's appointment would lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned."A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the constitution as written," Kavanaugh said. "Informed by history and tradition and precedent."Conservatives, meanwhile, have both downplayed and hailed the possibility of reversing Roe."I think it's a bit of a scare tactic and rank speculation," Leo said on "This Week" Sunday, saying "nobody really knows" how Trump's nominee would rule on abortion if it ever arose."This is the moment conservative women have been waiting for -- the chance to return justice and constitutional limits to the nation's highest court," Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement in June. "Our nation is at a pivotal moment, and CWA ladies will be in the center of the action, protecting our future children and grandchildren with grace and dignity."Democrats may have a tough time putting up a procedural fight in the Senate, though, after Republicans in 2017 triggered the so-called "nuclear option" that allowed them to end Democratic filibustering of then-nominee Gorsuch by a simple majority vote, as opposed to the 60 votes previously required.The Republican party and other top political allies of the president have signaled they will set their sights on pressuring a select number of red-state Senate Democrats up for re-election in states President Trump won in 2016, including three who actually voted for the president's previous nominee Neil Gorsuch in 2017.The White House extended invitations to Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Doug Jones of Alabama to attend the evening White House announcement, but all declined to attend.</s>President Donald Trump announced on Monday night that he’d selected Brett Kavanaugh, a judge who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as his nominee to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon-to-be vacant Supreme Court seat.



“Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said, followed by a standing ovation.

The primetime announcement came just 12 days after Justice Kennedy said he would step down from the bench, where he was widely—if not always accurately—seen as the decisive swing vote between the court’s conservative and liberal wings.



Judge Kavanaugh, meanwhile, has a reputation as a hardline conservative, whose presence on the bench will decisively shift the court to the right.

“Mr. President, thank you,” Kavanaugh, who was accompanied by his wife and children, said. “I’m grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me.”

Kavanaugh had been considered the frontrunner for Kennedy’s seat. The 52-year-old has served as an appellate judge since 2006, when he was nominated and confirmed under George W. Bush. He’s made a name for himself within conservative circles as a staunch supporter of gun rights, and opponent of abortion. Despite his frontrunner status, Kavanaugh’s selection had been in jeopardy in part due to his association with the Bush family, with whom president Trump has publicly feuded for years.

Judge Kavanaugh now heads to the Senate for confirmation, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already pledged to push though the nominee before the coming midterm elections in November. Democrats, meanwhile, have used the threat represented by Kavanaugh to Roe v Wade as their oppositional rallying point, using it to apply pressure to Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski for a potential “no” vote.



Update, 9:17 p.m. ET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is already going on the attack, saying a confirmation for Kavanaugh puts reproductive rights “on the judicial chopping block.” Kavanaugh, a Catholic, is talking about how important religion is to him.

Update, 9:41 p.m.: “President Trump has made a superb choice. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is an impressive nominee who is extremely well qualified to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for Senators to put partisanship aside and consider his legal qualifications with the fairness, respect, and seriousness that a Supreme Court nomination ought to command.”

North Dakota Sen. Heiti Heitkamp, who was one of three Democrats to vote for Neil Gorsuch, makes it clear that she could 100 percent see herself signing away the next thirty years to the fucking vultures.

“I have no doubt that many members of Congress and outside groups will announce how they stand on the nominee before doing their due dilligence and instead just take a partisan stance,” Heitkamp said in a statement posted on Twitter. “But that isn’t how I work.” Of course it isn’t. It might actually be useful to look at what Kavanaugh has done over the course of his career and think about it for three seconds!

Schumer, meanwhile, says he’ll oppose Gorsuch “with everything I have.”

Update, 9:46 p.m.: Here’s a good indicator of where Kavanaugh stands on one of the most important issues that could come before the Supreme Court, per voting rights journalist and expert Ari Berman.

Update, 10:08 p.m.: Hey look, it’s the only living president who might be worse than Donald Trump, just weighing in to say that Trump is doing a great job.

Update, 10:50 p.m.: Democrats are targeting two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to try to block Trump’s nomination. Unsurprisingly, both made noncommittal statements tonight.

One Republican who has spoken out against Kavanaugh so far is libertarian Rep. Justin Amash, who called the pick “disappointing, particularly with respect to his 4th Amendment record.” Amash doesn’t get a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, but fellow libertarian Sen. Rand Paul does. Here’s Paul’s statement:

This is a developing story and is being updated.</s>In what is likely to be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency, Donald Trump has selected Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“There is no one in America more qualified for this position, or more deserving,” the president said of Kavanaugh during Monday night’s prime-time television announcement from the White House East Room. He called Kavanaugh a “brilliant jurist” who has “devoted his life to public service.”

Prior to his time as a judge he oversaw an investigation into the death of a deputy counsel for President Bill Clinton. It was ruled a suicide, but conspiracy theorists were not so certain. Kavanaugh also did preliminary work that led to Clinton’s impeachment for an affair with a White House intern. And he worked on the vote recount in the state of Florida that made George W. Bush president. After that he became a staff secretary for Bush, often traveling with the president.

Known as a devout Catholic, Kavanaugh’s position on one of America’s most politically charged issues – abortion – has raised concern on both sides. Those who promote a woman’s right to choose an abortion were upset with a Kavanaugh ruling against an immigrant teenager in federal custody who sought an immediate abortion. But some conservatives expressed dismay that Kavanaugh did not declare that the teen had no constitutional right to an elective abortion.

Earlier, Trump had announced he had narrowed his choice to several contenders, building anticipation for the announcement, which generated criticism.

The executive editor of the Lawfare blog, Susan Hennessey, who is also a Brookings fellow in national security in governance studies, called it “completely bizarre that the president has imposed an artificial, TV ratings-driven deadline on such a consequential choice.”

Others, however, perceived time was of the essence.

With Republicans hoping to confirm a justice before the court resumes its session in October, as well as prior to the upcoming midterm congressional election in November, “Trump did not move too fast in naming a nominee,” says Trevor Burrus, a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.

What is almost certain — and those across the political spectrum agree — is that Kavanaugh’s selection will spark a major confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority and opposition Democrats say they will fight to prevent the high court from swinging further to the right.

A handful of Senate Democrats running for re-election in states that Trump won handily in 2016 could face a difficult vote on the court nominee, potentially providing Republicans with an additional buffer if they decide to support the president.

Kennedy was often a member of five-to-four majority decisions on the high court. Those included a number of high-profile cases, including same-sex marriage and upholding a woman’s right to an abortion.

Kennedy’s departure “leaves the court in a calcified state of a hardened left and right with nobody in that middle position,” says Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University constitutional law professor.

“Most of the time Kennedy swung to the conservative side, especially on questions of the limits of congressional power, the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment,” Burrus, who also is managing editor of the Cato Supreme Court Review, tells VOA.

“He swung to the other side on the question of gay rights and abortion, and those are the particular issues that concern those on the left.”

The Supreme Court, sitting atop one of the three branches of American government, ”has grown in importance over the past few decades,” Burrus said. “This is partially due to the cases it has been asked to decide, such as the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, and it is partially due to the divided nature of American politics.”

Unlike presidents or members of Congress, however, Supreme Court justices in the United States do not have terms – they usually serve until they resign or die, giving presidents who select them a judicial legacy sometimes lasting decades beyond their terms in office.

Kennedy, who is 81, had been nominated for the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

Trump, just days after becoming president in January of last year in a similar televised event, selected the reliably conservative Neil Gorsuch to succeed Antonin Scalia, who had died at the age of 79 in February 2016.

The names of Kavanaugh and Gorsuch were on a list of judicial candidates deemed suitable by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.

Critics accused Trump of outsourcing his selection to the conservative groups.

“I’ve never seen a president of the United States, in effect, make himself a puppet of outside groups and choose from a group of right-wing fringe ideologues that are prepared on this list,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a judiciary committee member, said Sunday on an ABC News program.

Burrus says that while “Trump’s method of choosing a justice is not exactly traditional, but it is not that objectionable given the circumstances. As an outsider candidate, people wanted to know who he might put on the Supreme Court, particularly since there was an open seat on the court for the next president to fill, which is rare.

“By publishing a short list, and sticking to traditional conservative justices, he allayed many fears about who he might appoint to the Court. With his second appointment he’s sticking to that general process,” Burrus added.</s>President Donald Trump announced Monday that he has chosen Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a choice that will likely affect the court for a generation or more to come.

Kavanaugh, who clerked for Kennedy, is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Kavanaugh was born in Washington, D.C., and reared in Bethesda, Maryland. His mother was a Maryland state circuit court judge. His father was also an attorney.

He graduated from Georgetown Prep School and Yale University. He earned his law degree at Yale.

In addition to clerking for Kennedy, Kavanaugh clerked for Judge Walter Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Alex Kosinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Kavanaugh earned a one-year fellowship with Ken Starr, when Starr was the solicitor general of the United States, before he clerked for Kennedy.

Kavanaugh worked as an associate counsel for Starr in the Office of Independent Counsel after he left Kennedy. There, he helped draft the Starr report that recommended the impeachment of President Bill Clinton for lying about an affair with Monica Lewinski, a White House intern.

Kavanaugh also investigated the suicide of Vincent Foster, an aide to Clinton. Kavanaugh concluded there was no question that Foster had killed himself.

“Brett was the smartest of the smartest,” Robert Bittman, who worked with Kavanaugh in Starr’s office, told The Washington Post.

He argued one case before the Supreme Court, asking the justices to rule that Foster’s attorney had to turn over notes from a conversation he had with Foster just prior to his suicide. The court ruled 6-3 against Kavanaugh’s request.

After working for Starr, he worked for President George W. Bush in the Florida recount fight during the 2000 presidential election.

He joined the staff at the White House following Bush’s victory, serving as Staff Secretary and assistant to Bush.

He was nominated to the D.C. appeals court by Bush in 2003. It took three years for Kavanaugh to be confirmed.

Kavanaugh was not on Trump’s initial list of potential nominees for any vacant seat on the Supreme Court but was added later.

He says he considers Roe v. Wade binding under “stare decisis” which is Latin for “to stand by things decided.” Kavanaugh has said he would support the decision that allows a woman to legally have an abortion in every state in the country.

In 2009, Kavanaugh wrote a piece for a law journal arguing that U.S. presidents should be exempt from “time-consuming and distracting” lawsuits or special investigations which “would ill serve the public interest, especially in times of financial or national security crisis.”

Some have suggested that is why Kavanaugh is on Trump’s short list to sit as a Supreme Court justice.

He is 53, and married Ashley Estes in 2004. The couple has two daughters.</s>Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court

Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court:

"There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving." — President Donald Trump.

"I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law." — Kavanaugh.

"Judge Kavanaugh has sterling academic credentials. He is widely admired for his intellect, experience, and exemplary judicial temperament. ... And his judicial record demonstrates a firm understanding of the role of a judge in our Republic: Setting aside personal views and political preferences in order to interpret our laws as they are written." — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and health care protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block. ... I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same." — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Brett is a brilliant jurist who has faithfully applied the Constitution and laws throughout his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit. He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity." — Former President George W. Bush.

"I look forward to Judge Kavanaugh's public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to questioning him in a meeting in my office." — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate and potentially pivotal vote.

"The Supreme Court will ultimately decide if nearly 800,000 West Virginians with pre-existing conditions will lose their healthcare. This decision will directly impact almost 40% of my state, so I'm very interested in his position on protecting West Virginians with pre-existing conditions." — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a centrist facing re-election this year.

"I will carefully review and consider the record and qualifications of Judge Brett Kavanaugh." — Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., another moderate facing re-election this year.

"I look forward to the upcoming hearings, reviewing the record, and meeting personally with Judge Kavanaugh, with an open mind." — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a libertarian who's privately expressed concerns about Kavanaugh's role during the George W. Bush administration.

"Judge Kavanaugh has a record of adherence to the Constitution and has demonstrated a commitment to interpreting the law — not making it." — Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., facing a competitive re-election contest in November.

"He would tip the balance of the Supreme Court even more against workers' rights, civil rights, and women's rights for decades to come." — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a potential 2020 presidential contender.

"President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be a rubber-stamp for an extreme, right-wing agenda pushed by corporations and billionaires." — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"He is a superb mainstream candidate worthy of the Senate's consideration." — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

"With a subservient Republican Congress and a far-right Supreme Court, there is a real risk that the worst impulses of the Trump presidency will go unchecked." — No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois.

"Sadly, the #Resistance is going to try to bork him by portraying him as a cross between Lex Luthor and Darth Vader." — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

"This is a nominee who wants to pave the path to tyranny." — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.</s>WASHINGTON — They’re all younger than 55 and conservative enough to make a first cut. But the four judges who are apparently the finalists for President Donald Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination are being measured against a set of questions that go well beyond age and ideology.

Federal judge Brett Kavanaugh is often mentioned as being the one candidate who checks all the boxes important to Trump. His legal experience and acumen are unquestioned. Kavanaugh’s sharp legal mind is a plus.

But presidents weigh all sorts of considerations in deciding on a Supreme Court nominee, often beginning with the big question: Will the choice be confirmed by the Senate?

Academic credentials, professional experience and sometimes even gender, race and geographical diversity all can be part of the equation.

The stakes are sky high for filling the opening created by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s imminent retirement. The new justice has the potential to entrench conservative control of the Supreme Court for years to come.

Here are some of the pluses and minuses for Brett Kavanaugh, considered a Washington insider.

Current position: Judge on the the federal appellate court for the District of Columbia.

Education: He attended Yale University both as an undergraduate and law student.

Distinction: Roughly 300 opinions in 12 years as a judge and a raft of legal articles and speaking engagements make Kavanaugh the most prolific of the prospective nominees.

Track record: He is widely viewed as a skilled, conservative judge on what is often called the second most powerful court in America. His opinions include several dissents that were later vindicated by Supreme Court majority opinions. Kavanaugh, who worked on the investigation that led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, later wrote that he thinks presidents shouldn’t have to deal with criminal investigations or civil lawsuits while in office — a view that Trump might find attractive.

Private life: He is active in his local Catholic church and as a coach for his daughters’ basketball teams.

Support for nomination: Some social conservatives fear Kavanaugh isn’t committed to issues that matter to them, like abortion. They cite a recent case involving a pregnant teenaged immigrant in federal custody. Kavanaugh would have delayed the teen’s abortion, in line with the Trump administration’s position, but another judge would have gone farther and declared that, as someone who is in the U.S. illegally, the teen had no right at all to an abortion.

Kavanaugh’s close ties to the Bush family, stemming from his five years in the White House under President George W. Bush, might not be a positive to Trump, who has sparred with the Bushes.

Kavanaugh also was a clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski, who retired abruptly last year as allegations of sexual misconduct grew.</s>The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth has begun on the left, but the truth is that Donald Trump could have nominated someone far more conservative on Monday night.

Over the next several months there will be endless protests in Washington D.C. as liberals moan and groan about “the end of our freedoms”, and Brett Kavanaugh will be relentlessly portrayed as a conservative devil by the mainstream media. And even though NBC News is insisting that Kavanaugh “would make the high court solidly conservative” if he is confirmed, the reality of the matter is that there are some pretty good reasons why conservatives should be deeply concerned about this pick. Just because a Republican president nominates someone to the Supreme Court does not mean that individual will make a good judge. For example, Ronald Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy in 1987, and he turned out to be a complete and utter disaster. If Reagan had nominated someone different, the entire modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court could have been completely different. With the Court still so divided, the stakes are incredibly high, and we must not get another Kennedy. So it is troubling that Brett Kavanaugh clerked for Kennedy and has always had nothing but good things to say about him. Anyone that would look to Justice Kennedy as any sort of a role model is definitely not fit for a seat on the highest court in the land.

Beyond his connections to Kennedy, what is troubling conservatives more than anything are some of his opinions while serving on the appellate court level.

For instance, not too long ago he ruled that an illegal immigrant “has a right to an abortion in the United States”…

In that opinion he also added that “all parties to this case recognize Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey as precedents we must follow.”

Throughout his entire career, Kavanaugh has been extremely engaged in Republican politics, but he has never expressed public opposition to Roe v. Wade a single time.

So despite the outrageous claims of the left that Roe v. Wade “is about to be overturned”, the truth is that we actually have no idea how Brett Kavanaugh would rule on Roe v. Wade, and that is absolutely frightening.

In addition, back in 2011 Kavanaugh decided not to rule against Obamacare’s individual mandate…

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by President George W. Bush, declined to rule against Obamacare’s individual mandate when it came before his court in 2011 and argued that the case could not be decided by a federal court until at least 2015 because of the Anti-Injunction Act. All nine members of the Supreme Court—including Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas—would later join in opinions (in the Obamacare case that the Supreme Court decided in 2012) that rejected the argument Kavanaugh embraced that the Anti-Injunction Act prevented a pre-2015 ruling on the Obamacare mandate.

All of the “experts” on television keep telling us how “conservative” Kavanaugh is, but looking at his record that is hard to see.

And let us not forget his extremely close ties to the Bush family…

Donald Trump likes to think that he is making his mark on the Supreme Court, but the reality of the matter is that we probably would have gotten the exact same nomination if George W. Bush was still in the White House today.

I hope that he proves me wrong, but I believe that the nomination of Kavanaugh is a huge mistake. I believe that he is a moderate, especially on social issues, and I do not trust him.

But most conservatives are going to assume that Kavanaugh must be wonderful since he is “Trump’s choice”, and they are going to rally around him.

Instead, it will be the left that will try to keep Kavanaugh off the Court, and within minutes of the announcement of his nomination there were already hundreds of protesters on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building…

And of course good old Bernie Sanders was on hand to whip the protesters into a frenzy…

If the Democrats were smart, they would conduct some token protests to make it look good and then confirm Kavanaugh as quickly as possible.

With Trump in the White House, they simply are not going to get an activist liberal judge on to the Court. Another judge in the mold of Anthony Kennedy is about the best that they could possibly hope for, and that is very likely what they are going to get with Kavanaugh.

In the end, it is true conservatives that should be fighting this nomination, but we all know that is simply not going to happen.</s>Trump announces nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, calls it "honor and privilege"

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump announces nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, calls it "honor and privilege"</s>WASHINGTON — On paper, Brett Michael Kavanaugh may be the most qualified Supreme Court nominee in generations.

Like Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas, he has served on the second-most powerful court in the nation. Like Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch, he brings more than a decade's experience as a federal appeals court judge. And like Justice Elena Kagan, he has worked at the side of a two-term president.

But Kavanaugh's 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, combined with his Yale pedigree, Supreme Court clerkship under retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy and top posts under President George W. Bush, give him a résumé the court's current justices can't match.

It may be in his blood: Even his mother, Martha, became a Maryland state judge a quarter-century ago.

"I have interviewed many candidates for the federal bench, including Roberts and Alito," said Bush's former attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. "There is no question in my mind regarding Brett for the Supreme Court. He has a track record that demonstrates his talents and his judicial philosophy."

More than anyone else in conservative legal circles today, Kavanaugh, 53, has been viewed as a Supreme Court justice-in-waiting. While waiting, he has written some 300 opinions and sent 41 of his law clerks to similar posts at the high court — far more than any of his competitors for the nomination.

But Kavanaugh's status as front-runner for the prestigious high court seat came with a fair amount of baggage that nearly cost him the nod.

When President Donald Trump put together his first and second lists of potential nominees last year, Kavanaugh's name was missing. The reason? He was a product of Washington, D.C., from the day he was born, and the renegade president wanted an outsider.

When independent counsel Kenneth Starr was heading the investigation into President Bill Clinton, he hired Kavanaugh as an assistant. In that post, Kavanaugh argued that Clinton's lies about his affair with Monica Lewinsky could be grounds for impeachment. But a decade later, he wrote that presidents should not be subject to "time-consuming and distracting" civil lawsuits or criminal investigations while in office.

“He was known as pretty much the brightest guy that we had,” said Robert Bittman, who worked with Kavanaugh on the Clinton investigation. "He was uber-confident in terms of his judgment, his ability, his work ethic."

When Bush's 2000 election hinged on a recount in Florida, Kavanaugh was part of the would-be president's legal team. That work led him to the White House, where he eventually served as Bush's staff secretary while his wife, Ashley Estes, served as the president's personal secretary.

All that involvement in politics led Senate Democrats to block his nomination to the prestigious federal appeals court in 2003. Sen. Dick Durbin called him the "Forrest Gump of Republican politics." Sen. Charles Schumer, now the Senate Democratic leader, said, “If there was a political fight that needed a political foot soldier in the last decade, Brett Kavanaugh was probably there.”

Ultimately, Kavanaugh made it on to the court that has been a stepping-stone for many Supreme Court justices by a 57-36 vote in 2006. At his final Judiciary Committee hearing, he credited Kennedy for helping to teach him "the essential neutrality of the law."

“I will interpret the law as written and not impose personal policy preferences," he pledged. "I’ll exercise judicial power prudently and with restraint. I’ll follow precedent in all cases fully and fairly. And above all, I will at all times maintain the absolute independence of the judiciary.”

Throughout the search for Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Kavanaugh was a favorite of the conservative legal cognoscenti. They sought someone with a long track record that included most of the controversial issues likely to come before the high court.

"Brett Kavanaugh is among the most distinguished and respected judges in the country, with over 300 opinions that clearly demonstrate fairness and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution as it’s written and enforcing the limits on government power contained in the Constitution," said Leonard Leo, who is advising the White House on the Supreme Court nomination while on leave as executive vice president of the Federalist Society.

Kavanaugh's 12 years on the D.C. Circuit – longer than any recent Supreme Court nominee but Ginsburg, who served there 13 years – have included some controversial cases. Among them:
• In 2011, he dissented from an appeals court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. But rather than declare it unconstitutional, he wrote a 65-page dissent arguing that judges had no authority to decide the case. "We’re courts of judicial restraint," he said during oral argument. "It’s a delicate act to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.” That has caused some conservatives to liken him to Roberts, who saved Obamacare from extinction in a 5-4 ruling the following year.
• During a hearing in 2016 on Obama's "clean power" plan to combat global warming, he called the policy "laudable" but said it set unachievable limits that would drive plants out of business. "Lots of people are going to lose their jobs, lose their livelihoods," he said. The plan never took effect.
• Last year, he dissented from the appeals court's ruling in favor of an undocumented teenage girl seeking an abortion. He cited Supreme Court precedents, under which he said that "the government has permissible interests in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of a minor, and refraining from facilitating abortion." But he did not sign on to another dissent that argued illegal immigrants have no right to abortion.
• Earlier this year, he dissented from a decision upholding the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created during the Obama administration to enforce regulations against banks, lenders and other business groups. He called independent agencies such as the CFPB "a headless fourth branch of the U.S. government."

“What we have with Judge Kavanaugh is a very lengthy track record of someone who has established his conservative bona fides," said Howard Bashman, an appellate lawyer in Pennsylvania who clerked with Kavanaugh at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. "He also deserves credit for approaching every case with an open mind and trying to come up with an outcome that makes sense when it’s explained.”

That "open mind" was cited by others who have worked with Kavanaugh as clerks or colleagues.

"He's a very independent, fair-minded judge," said Jennifer Mascott, an assistant professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, who clerked for Kavanaugh his first year on the bench. She recalled him slaving over "scores" of drafts of his opinions, "making sure every single last word was phrased in the way he thought was best.”

All of which is to say that Kavanaugh has been both a political foot soldier and a leading legal theorist in conservative circles for most of his adult life.

It's "a pretty perfect résumé," said Richard Re, assistant professor of law at UCLA School of Law, who clerked for Kavanaugh on the federal appeals court. He describes his former boss as "intellectually voracious" and a "cutting-edge textualist thinker" – but also "a Bud Light kind of guy."

Nearly everyone interviewed ahead of Kavanaugh's nomination also described him as a sports junkie who lives and dies with the up-and-down Washington Nationals.

“He has been fortunate to have various experiences in his past like most of us regular mortals will never have," Bashman, who attends Nats games with Kavanaugh, said. "But he knows what it is to be a regular person.”

Scott McCaleb has been a friend since he and Kavanaugh attended rival Jesuit high schools in 1980. (Kavanaugh was two years ahead of Gorsuch at Georgetown Preparatory School.) McCaleb said the service-oriented education they received has defined the judge's life. He has mentored underprivileged children, served meals to the homeless and coached his daughters' Catholic Youth Organization basketball teams.

“He really lives the Jesuit mantra of being a man for others," McCaleb said. "He does it in so many ways.”

In his recent commencement address at Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, Kavanaugh urged graduates to do the same.

"Being a graduate of this law school means you will have many advantages, but you also have responsibilities: serve meals to the homeless, give clothing to the poor, and use your legal training to help those who need legal help," he said. "As Pope Francis says, ‘Faith and values mean not just belief and going to Mass, but action.'"

Current position: Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2006

Career experience: Assistant to the president and staff secretary, White House, 2003-06; senior associate counsel and associate counsel, White House, 2001-03; partner, Kirkland & Ellis, 1997-98, 1999-2001; associate counsel, Office of Independent Counsel, 1994-97, 1998; law clerk for Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, 1993-94; attorney, Office of the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, 1992-93.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.