Trump lauds new Supreme Court judge Kavanaugh
BRETT KAVANAUGH, the latest addition to the US Supreme Court, will be lauded by a triumphant Donald Trump at the White House this evening at a ceremonial swearing-in and is expected at his desk tomorrow morning to deliberate his first cases on matters including guns and immigration.
After a lengthy and difficult confirmation process, tarnished by allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking in his youth, Mr Kavanaugh will finally take his place alongside the other eight men and women appointed to the highest court in the land, which now veers firmly to the Right, to the delight of Republicans.
His appointment is regarded as a significant achievement for the president, who is flying high after making good on his campaign promise of restructuring the political make-up of the court with two successful selections within his first two years in office.
It has provided a much-needed boost to the Republican party just a month away from midterm elections often regarded as the first real test of the popularity of the president.
At a rally in Topeka, Kansas, on Saturday evening, a jubilant Mr Trump praised his pick as a man of “great character and intellect” and a “totally brilliant scholar”.
“Just a few hours ago, the US Senate confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” he said. “And I proudly signed the judge’s commission aboard Air Force One just before landing. And this Monday night at 7pm in the East Room of the White House, we will perform the swearing-in ceremony for soon-to-be Justice Kavanaugh. Great man.
“He will sit proudly alongside [Mr Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee] Justice Neil Gorsuch, who’s doing a great job to uphold your sacred rights and to uphold your God-given freedom.”
Mr Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation saw him voted on to the court by 50 votes to 48 on Saturday.
He was officially sworn in shortly after in a private hearing to become the court’s 114th justice.
This evening, the 53-year-old will stand alongside his wife, Ashley, and their two young daughters, Liza and Margaret, in the White House where he will take his oaths during the ceremonial proceeding overseen by chief justice John G. Roberts Jnr.
Standing nearby, flaunting his success and in celebratory mood, will be Mr Trump with his wife Melania, back
‘This Monday, we will perform the swearing in ceremony for soon-tobe Justice Kavanaugh. Great man’
yesterday from a trip to Egypt. There will be little time to party, however, with Mr Kavanaugh expected at the office tomorrow morning where he will take his seat on the far right side of the bench to begin deliberations on several cases listed this week.
Although his presence as the ninth member of the court will end the potential for the 4-4 stalemate votes that have frustrated the panel while a successor to Anthony Kennedy was found, his first hearings are not likely to be ones where a swing vote would be the deciding factor.
Tomorrow, he will study the Armed Career Criminal Act, which sets a 15year minimum sentence for crimes involving firearms if the offender has three previous serious or violent convictions. He will deliberate the meaning of what crimes constitute serious or violent.
Then on Wednesday, the justices will look again at which undocumented immigrants can be detained during deportation proceedings and will study a case filed by sailors suing a manufacturer for asbestos exposure.
Several other major cases are looming for the session – or term – which runs until early summer 2019. This term, the court can expect to consider issues regarding both gay rights in the workplace and election law as well the legality of the Trump administration’s cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which offered protection to illegal immigrants brought to the US as children.