President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge in Washington, to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the US Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh, 53, serves on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which often rules on major challenges to federal laws and policies. If confirmed, he would make the Supreme Court solidly conservative, joining Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch to form a five-vote conservative majority.
In the 1990s, Kavanaugh worked on independent counsel Ken Starr’s report that laid out possible grounds for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment and later served in President George W. Bush’s White House.
Courtesy of the White House
Judge Kavanaugh is a Yale Law graduate and served as senior associate counsel to President Bush. Bush nominated Kavanaugh to the court of appeals in 2003, but his confirmation was stalled at the Senate for three years.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has promised a quick confirmation vote, but Democrats are expected to attempt to delay that action until after the fall midterm elections.
Combined news reports
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