** FILE ** Brett Kavanaugh appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill April 26, 2004, on his nomination to be U. S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. Kavanaugh’s nomination by President Bush to a federal appeals court judgeship is moving toward a vote in the Senate after being blocked for more than two years by Democrats. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
The White House has officially revealed President Donald Trump’s pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
President Trump nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a 12-year veteran of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit with strong academic and conservative credentials, to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court #SCOTUS
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) July 10, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh, a long-time Washington figure, will face a fierce confirmation process from the Senate, which will have every Democrat in the chamber throwing everything they have to stop him from succeeding Kennedy.
Prior to the announcement, Amy Coney Barrett and Raymond Kethledge, who were also on Trump’s short list, were spotted by reporters at their homes – not in Washington D.C. News about the other front-runner, Thomas Hardiman, has been light, indicating that he was not the choice, either.
Kavanaugh has a long, conservative history in Washington. He helped author the Starr Report, recommending the impeachment of Bill Clinton, according to the Los Angeles Times. They also have a bit more of his history:
Later, Kavanaugh was the lead author of the so-called Starr Report that called for President Clinton’s impeachment because he had lied about his sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The House under Republican control did indeed vote to impeach Clinton, but the Senate refused to convict him.
In December 2000, with the presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush undecided, Kavanaugh joined the Republican legal team fighting to stop the ballot recount in Florida. The Supreme Court did just that by a 5-4 vote in the Bush vs. Gore case, clearing the way for Bush to be declared the victor.
Kavanaugh took a post in the White House counsel’s office under President Bush and later served as his staff secretary. Bush nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 2003, but because of strong opposition from Democrats, he was not confirmed until 2006.
Kavanaugh will likely be confirmed in September – over the protests of Democrats and liberals across the country – and will join what appears to be an increasingly conservative Supreme Court shortly thereafter.
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