Trump names conservative favourite for top court

President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a politically connected conservative judge, for the Supreme Court yesterday, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court further to the right. A favourite of the Republican legal establishment in Washington, Kavanaugh, 53, is a former law clerk for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh would be a young addition who could help remake the court for decades to come with rulings that could restrict abortion, expand gun rights and roll back key parts of Obamacare. ‘‘There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving,’’ said Trump, who called Kavanaugh ‘‘one of the sharpest legal minds of our time.’’