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US-JUDGE-NOMINATION
Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – 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.
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