Trump names Kavanaugh as Supreme Court nominee

Washington, July 10

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated conservative Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Judge, a decision that could have far-reaching implications on everything from abortion to guns to immigration and alter the balance of the ideologically divided apex court.

President Trump picked Justice Kavanaugh, a conservative stalwart who has deep ties to the Republican establishment, from an original list of 25 judges, which also included Indian-American judge Amul Thapar.

Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination has set the stage for a bruising confirmation battle as Democrats immediately vowed to oppose the President’s choice of the vacancy created by 81-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement.

Announcing Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination at the East Room of the White House, Trump described the 53-year-old from Maryland, currently a judge in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, as one with “impeccable credentials and one of the finest legal minds of our times”.

The nomination battle will likely ignite a firestorm on Capitol Hill as it comes just a year after Republicans changed the rules of the Senate in order to push through the nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch, the first nominee of Trump’s presidency.

Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination is Trump’s second appointment to the highest court, potentially allowing him to shape the US for a generation after he demits the White House.

Each of the nine apex court justices holds a lifetime appointment. Prior to becoming a judge, he served in the George W Bush administration. — PTI