| Trump Taps Kavanaugh, Hoping To Bolster Court's Conservatives The waiting is over: The speculation and tea-leaf-reading that began almost immediately after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his upcoming retirement ended Monday night when President Trump said that he was nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his second pick for the Supreme Court.
A connected D.C. insider with roots in politics dating back to George W. Bush’s White House: Since 2006, Kavanaugh has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In that time he has written almost 300 opinions. He is only 53, which means he could serve on the high court for a very long time. Some conservatives, though, have questioned his bona fides, and he is controversial with Democrats because of his role investigating President Bill Clinton as part of the Starr investigation in the 1990s.
The reaction on Capitol Hill: A swift, partisan response echoed back down Pennsylvania Ave. from the Hill to the White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Kavanaugh a “superb choice” while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he will oppose Trump’s pick “with everything I have.” The Senate’s top Democrat also said he hoped a bipartisan majority in the chamber would do the same, adding “the stakes are simply too high for anything else.”
His judicial record: In his time on the federal appeals court, Kavanaugh has weighed in on controversial cases involving guns, abortion, health care and religious liberty. He’s also ruled on executive power. One of Kavanaugh’s former clerks told NPR the Supreme Court nominee will "never, ever go wobbly" and deviate from conservative principles.
LISTEN: In a special podcast, the NPR Politics team analyzes Trump’s choice.
What’s next?: Kavanaugh is expected to begin meeting individually with senators on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Then his formal hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin. Democrats are concerned about abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and the pressure is especially high on a small number of Senate Democrats up for re-election this year from states Trump won in 2016. GOP congressional aides say they expect the whole process could take two months.
Briefly: — The NPR Politics team | 
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