Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court justice
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court justice on Saturday, the court said, after a deeply divided U.S. Senate confirmed him to the court.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday applauded the Senate for approving his nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, to a life-time term on the Supreme Court, writing on Twitter.
"I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court," Trump wrote. "Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!".
After weeks of intense debate that has gripped the nation, the conservative appeals court judge on Friday won vows of support from two centrist senators, leaving no clear path in the Senate for Kavanaugh's opponents to block him.
He barely survived a procedural test on Friday, when senators voted 51-49 to advance his nomination to a final vote.
Confirmation of Kavanaugh gives Trump a clear win in his drive to cement conservative dominance of the high court, a bitter outcome for Democrats who could not get their own liberal nominee confirmed due to Republican delaying tactics in 2016.
Republicans held open an empty seat that year, which Trump filled in 2017 with conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who Kavanaugh will replace, retired this year after decades of being a swing vote on the court.
With divisive cases on abortion rights, immigration, transgender rights and business regulation headed for the court, Kavanaugh likely would give conservatives the upper hand.
His confirmation would also allow Trump to hit the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 6 elections bragging that he has kept his 2016 promise to push the American judiciary rightward.
Published: by Radio NewsHub