President Donald Trump took over primetime TV on Monday night to unveil his latest Supreme Court nominee, selecting federal judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Trump prefaced the reveal with a brief address, saying that like President Reagan before him, he was looking for “judges who apply the Constitution as written.” He then introduced Kavanaugh, who shook hands with Trump before standing with his wife and two daughters. Trump touted Kavanaugh as “a brilliant jurist” with “impeccable credentials” before inviting Kavanaugh to the podium, where the judge said he was “deeply honored” to be Trump’s choice.
A Yale Law School graduate and a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court since 2006, Kavanaugh is set to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced last month he’d be stepping down after serving three decades on the court. Kavanaugh will need to be confirmed by a majority of the Senate before taking his place as one of the nine Supreme Court justices. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would be the second justice installed by Trump, who nominated Neil Gorsuch to the court shortly after being inaugurated last year.
Trump’s decision to make his announcement at 9 pm ET caused a ripple effect in the primetime schedule, with the major networks forced to shuffle their shows to make room. As for why Trump chose that specific time, NBC News contributor Gabriel Sherman says it might be a ploy to boost ratings for Fox News host Sean Hannity:
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