Saturday, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, voted to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to be the next associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.
“I voted today to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who has devoted 26 years of public service to our nation as a jurist, lawyer, and professor,” Sen Shelby said. “During the hearings, I found Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony to be credible. I also found the subsequent FBI report to be thorough. As a senator, my job is to carefully consider and review all available information. After doing so, it is evident that the accusations against Judge Kavanaugh are uncorroborated, and there is no confirmation of any of the alleged misconduct.”
“During his time as a federal judge, Judge Kavanaugh has been a principled, intelligent, and steadfast supporter of the rule of law,” Sen. Shelby continued. “In accordance with my constitutional right to ‘advice and consent,’ I advise that Judge Kavanaugh be the next associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 50 to 48.
Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald J. Trump (R) on July 9 following the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Kavanaugh has served for over a decade as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and currently serves as the Samuel Williston Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School. Kavanaugh has clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, and Third Circuit Judge Walter Stapleton. He worked for Ken Star on the Whitewater investigation into improprieties by the Clinton Administration. He worked in the George W. Bush (R) White House. Bush appointed him to the federal bench in 2006, where he has written more than 300 published opinions, including more than a dozen endorsements by the Supreme Court, and has a proven track record.
Senator Doug Jones, D-Alabama, voted with his party leadership against the confirmation of Kavanaugh. Jones has been highly critical of the process, which he called, “flawed” and “rushed”. Jones said that he found the women accusing Kavanaugh of acting inappropriately in the 1980s credible and was critical of the FBI investigation. Jones condemned Kavanaugh’s spirited defense of his character as, “Partisan attacks demonstrating a temperament that is unbecoming a sitting judge,”
Kavanaugh is President Donald J. Trump’s second pick for the Supreme Court,
“I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our great nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court,” President Trump said on Twitter. “Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!”
Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday night and will join the Supreme Court which is already in session. Conservatives are hopeful that Kavanaugh, Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Gorsuch will establish a staunch strict constructionist majority for the first time in decades. Kavanaugh replaces the retiring Anthony Kennedy who was the swing vote on most major decisions.
