U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night nominated conservative federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will retire end of the month.
In a prime-time address from the White House, Trump introduced Kavanaugh as "a judge's judge."
Kavanaugh said "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."
The 53-year-old was reportedly the frontrunner among four finalists, who included federal appeals judges Thomas Hardiman, Amy Coney Barrett and Raymond Kethledge. They were all part of a 25-name list vetted by conservative groups.
The announcement ended days of suspense following Kennedy's announcement late June that he would retire on July 31.
Since then, the president had been pondering his pick for the Supreme Court seat held by Kennedy. While repeatedly giving teasing details of the decision-making process in recent days, Trump offered little information about his thinking.
Kavanaugh has served as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2006. Prior to that, he served in the George W. Bush administration, as an associate counsel and then subsequently as assistant to the president and staff secretary.
A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Kavanaugh clerked in the Supreme Court for Justice Kennedy and for judges of circuit courts of appeals. He also served as a counsel for the Office of Independent Counsel under Ken Starr and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP.
