U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday night that he had nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his resignation in late June.
In a statement from the White House, Trump described Kavanaugh as “a judge’s judge, a brilliant jurist” and “one of the sharpest, brightest legal minds of our time.”
Kavanaugh, 53, presently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. A Yale Law School graduate, he previously served in both Bush administrations. He also worked on independent counsel Ken Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton.
A statement from the White House said that Kavanaugh nomination “comes after a selection process marked by an historic degree of transparency, including the President’s public disclosure of a list of 25 highly qualified potential nominees to the Supreme Court.”
Judge Kavanaugh had previously clerked on the Supreme Court for Justice Kennedy, and for judges on the Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals.
“Judge Kavanaugh has earned a reputation as a brilliant jurist with impeccable legal credentials, and he is universally respected for his intellect, as well as his ability to persuade and build consensus,” said the statement.