Trump announces nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, calls it "honor and privilege"

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump announces nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court, calls it "honor and privilege" </s> President Donald Trump announced on Monday night that he’d selected Brett Kavanaugh, a judge who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as his nominee to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon-to-be vacant Supreme Court seat.



“Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said, followed by a standing ovation.

The primetime announcement came just 12 days after Justice Kennedy said he would step down from the bench, where he was widely—if not always accurately—seen as the decisive swing vote between the court’s conservative and liberal wings.



Judge Kavanaugh, meanwhile, has a reputation as a hardline conservative, whose presence on the bench will decisively shift the court to the right.

“Mr. President, thank you,” Kavanaugh, who was accompanied by his wife and children, said. “I’m grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me.”

Kavanaugh had been considered the frontrunner for Kennedy’s seat. The 52-year-old has served as an appellate judge since 2006, when he was nominated and confirmed under George W. Bush. He’s made a name for himself within conservative circles as a staunch supporter of gun rights, and opponent of abortion. Despite his frontrunner status, Kavanaugh’s selection had been in jeopardy in part due to his association with the Bush family, with whom president Trump has publicly feuded for years.

Judge Kavanaugh now heads to the Senate for confirmation, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already pledged to push though the nominee before the coming midterm elections in November. Democrats, meanwhile, have used the threat represented by Kavanaugh to Roe v Wade as their oppositional rallying point, using it to apply pressure to Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski for a potential “no” vote.



Update, 9:17 p.m. ET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is already going on the attack, saying a confirmation for Kavanaugh puts reproductive rights “on the judicial chopping block.” Kavanaugh, a Catholic, is talking about how important religion is to him.

Update, 9:41 p.m.: “President Trump has made a superb choice. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is an impressive nominee who is extremely well qualified to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for Senators to put partisanship aside and consider his legal qualifications with the fairness, respect, and seriousness that a Supreme Court nomination ought to command.”

North Dakota Sen. Heiti Heitkamp, who was one of three Democrats to vote for Neil Gorsuch, makes it clear that she could 100 percent see herself signing away the next thirty years to the fucking vultures.

“I have no doubt that many members of Congress and outside groups will announce how they stand on the nominee before doing their due dilligence and instead just take a partisan stance,” Heitkamp said in a statement posted on Twitter. “But that isn’t how I work.” Of course it isn’t. It might actually be useful to look at what Kavanaugh has done over the course of his career and think about it for three seconds!

Schumer, meanwhile, says he’ll oppose Gorsuch “with everything I have.”

Update, 9:46 p.m.: Here’s a good indicator of where Kavanaugh stands on one of the most important issues that could come before the Supreme Court, per voting rights journalist and expert Ari Berman.

Update, 10:08 p.m.: Hey look, it’s the only living president who might be worse than Donald Trump, just weighing in to say that Trump is doing a great job.

Update, 10:50 p.m.: Democrats are targeting two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to try to block Trump’s nomination. Unsurprisingly, both made noncommittal statements tonight.

One Republican who has spoken out against Kavanaugh so far is libertarian Rep. Justin Amash, who called the pick “disappointing, particularly with respect to his 4th Amendment record.” Amash doesn’t get a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, but fellow libertarian Sen. Rand Paul does. Here’s Paul’s statement:

This is a developing story and is being updated. </s> President Donald Trump has announced U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his second U.S. Supreme Court justice pick less than two years into his presidency.In a prime-time announcement in the East Room of the White House , President Trump set the stage for a high-stakes battle over a nominee who lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum have argued could alter the course of the nation's highest court for a generation."What matters is not a judge's political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require," Trump said. "I am pleased to say that I have found without doubt such a person. Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court."Kavanaugh, 53, is a Yale Law School graduate who has served on the D.C. Circuit Court for 12 years and was once a former clerk to the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. While Kavanaugh was framed as the more "establishment" conservative pick of the other candidates, various Republicans had phoned President Trump last week to voice their objections over his potential nomination, including a 2011 opinion where he declined to rule the Obamacare health insurance mandate as unconstitutional."Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law," Trump said. "Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers. He's a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds in our time."Democrats, meanwhile, have raised alarm not just over Kavanaugh's conservative bona fides, but one of past academic writings in which he argued presidents "should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office" such as responding to civil lawsuits and investigative inquiries based out of criminal charges. Such a stance could prove relevant if the Supreme Court is ever tasked with deciding the fate of actions in Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, such as an attempt at subpoenaing the president for an interview.Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short told reporters following the president's announcement that the White House hopes to have a confirmation vote on Kavanaugh before October 1st, the start of the court's term.With mere hours left to go before his self-imposed deadline, Trump, who had been consulting with family, friends and advisers this past weekend while in Bedminster, New Jersey, had not made a final decision.Multiple sources told ABC News that as of Sunday, the final four individuals Trump was considering for the vacancy were Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Raymond Kethledge and Thomas Hardiman, all federal appeals court judges.Trump's aides have prepared briefing books and booked television spots for his pick, anticipating that they'd have little time to spare between his decision and the reveal, sources tell ABC News.In the run-up to his announcement, the president had targeted four top contenders from a list of 25 administration-approved judges, former judges and one member of Congress, as curated by Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society and Trump's top Supreme Court adviser.In anticipation of Trump filling the vacancy left by the retiring Anthony Kennedy - widely considered to be the court's "swing vote" - with a judge thought to have more conservative bona fides, many outside advocacy groups are already bracing for what will likely be a contentious confirmation battle.Conservative groups like the Judicial Crisis Network and American Crossroads have each pledged over $1 million in ads encouraging support or opposition to Trump's eventual nominee.Meanwhile, liberal groups like NARAL Pro-Choice, Protect our Care and Demand Justice are pouring millions into ad campaigns of their own, drawing attention to what a conservative-leaning justice might mean for abortion rights, in particular.Liberal groups have geared up to protect Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that upheld women's rights to an abortion, from being overturned."They know that they will not get a justice nominated if the American people know this is what they want to do," NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said in a call with reporters last week. "What we need to know is that anyone coming onto the Supreme Court is going to uphold the law of the land and particularly a woman's right to decide what happens to her own body."The issue has even prompted moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine, to speak out, telling Stephanopoulos last week that a candidate who would overturn Roe v. Wade "would not be acceptable," because it indicates an "activist agenda" she didn't want to see in a judge.Kavanaugh avoided any direct reference to specific issues in front of the court in his remarks in the East Room, but said that he will be visiting Capitol Hill Tuesday to assure senators that he will commit to "keep an open mind in every case.""I will tell each senator that I revere the Constitution," Kavanaugh said. "I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case."Kavanaugh also emphasized in his remarks his belief that judges "must be independent" and "interpret the law, not make the law," a position that could be directed at those who fear Kavanaugh's appointment would lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned."A judge must interpret statutes as written, and a judge must interpret the constitution as written," Kavanaugh said. "Informed by history and tradition and precedent."Conservatives, meanwhile, have both downplayed and hailed the possibility of reversing Roe."I think it's a bit of a scare tactic and rank speculation," Leo said on "This Week" Sunday, saying "nobody really knows" how Trump's nominee would rule on abortion if it ever arose."This is the moment conservative women have been waiting for -- the chance to return justice and constitutional limits to the nation's highest court," Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement in June. "Our nation is at a pivotal moment, and CWA ladies will be in the center of the action, protecting our future children and grandchildren with grace and dignity."Democrats may have a tough time putting up a procedural fight in the Senate, though, after Republicans in 2017 triggered the so-called "nuclear option" that allowed them to end Democratic filibustering of then-nominee Gorsuch by a simple majority vote, as opposed to the 60 votes previously required.The Republican party and other top political allies of the president have signaled they will set their sights on pressuring a select number of red-state Senate Democrats up for re-election in states President Trump won in 2016, including three who actually voted for the president's previous nominee Neil Gorsuch in 2017.The White House extended invitations to Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Doug Jones of Alabama to attend the evening White House announcement, but all declined to attend. </s> WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump introduces U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his nominee to the United States Supreme Court during an event in the East Room of the White House July 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Judge Kavanaugh would succeed Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, who is retiring after 30 years of service on the high court. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775188136 ORIG FILE ID: 994988298

Senate hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that begin Tuesday are expected to be contentious as Democrats plan on grilling the nominee on his judicial record and legal philosophy. The battle has been controversial from the start since the nominee will be filling the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s swing vote on many key issues including abortion rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Democrats are complaining of lack of transparency, claiming much of Kavanaugh's record and key documents are being withheld from the public. “There will be sparks at this hearing. Sparks will fly," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. "And there will be a lot of heat.”

Tropical Storm Gordon expected to strengthen to hurricane as it hits the Gulf Coast

A hurricane watch has been posted for coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as dangerous Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to strengthen into a hurricane late Tuesday when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast with winds of 74 mph and over. Strong wind gusts, battering waves, above-normal tides, minor coastal flooding, flash flooding and a couple of isolated tornadoes and waterspouts will be the main threats from the storm, AccuWeather said. The National Hurricane Center also issued a storm surge warning, meaning possible "danger of life-threatening inundation,'' for the area stretching from Shell Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Kerry Perry, whose nine-month tenure as USA Gymnastics CEO was marked by heavy criticism and little tangible action in helping the organization recover from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, is expected to resign Tuesday. Though she preached transparency when she began the job, Perry's resignation, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports by two people with knowledge of the decision, was seen as inevitable — she made very few public statements and had no experience in gymnastics or the Olympic movement when she took over Dec. 1. Her expected departure will be the latest in USA Gymnastics after former CEO Steve Penny was forced to resign under pressure from the USOC in March 2017 for the way the organization handled sexual abuse complaints.

Students at Detroit’s city schools are starting the school year Tuesday with concerns about the safety of the city’s water. The school district shut off drinking water to all of its schools after test results found elevated levels of lead or copper in 16 of 24 schools recently tested. Detroit's water department and the regional water and sewer agency for southeast Michigan issued a statement to assure residents that the lead and copper contamination with water in the school buildings do not extend to the pipes that deliver water to customers' homes. The district will be providing bottled water and using portable water coolers at schools when classes start.

A trial begins Tuesday that pits relatives of about 1,200 dead people against licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to a Memphis, Tennessee, cemetery for three years after the cemetery said its registration expired in December 2010. The class-action lawsuit claims more than a dozen Memphis-area funeral homes failed to carry out their “sacred and contractual duties” for vulnerable, mourning relatives who expected their loved ones to be interred with dignity.Investigations revealed that Galilee Memorial Gardens' owners, the Lambert family, misplaced hundreds of bodies, buried multiple cadavers in the same grave, and crushed caskets to fit them into single plots for years. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday as he aimed to entrench its conservative control for years to come, but the federal appeals court judge faces a tough confirmation fight in the bitterly divided Senate.

While some Democrats promised a stern effort to block the 53-year-old Kavanaugh - who has served 12 years on the most influential U.S. appeals court - Trump’s fellow Republicans control the Senate by a narrow margin and can ensure confirmation if they avoid defections from their ranks.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace long-serving conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27 at age 81. Kavanaugh became Trump’s second lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest judicial body in his 18 months in office.

Kavanaugh is a well-known figure in Washington and has been involved in some of the biggest controversies of the past two decades. He helped investigate Democratic former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s working for independent counsel Kenneth Starr. He was on Republican George W. Bush’s team in the contentious Florida recount fight in the 2000 presidential election, then served as a senior official in Bush’s White House.

“Throughout legal circles he’s considered a judge’s judge, a true thought leader among his peers,” Trump, who named conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court last year, told an applauding audience in the White House East Room.

“He’s a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. And just like Justice Gorsuch, he excelled as a legal clerk for Justice Kennedy,” Trump added, saying Kavanaugh “deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan support.”

The appointment will not change the ideological breakdown of a court that already has a 5-4 conservative majority, but nevertheless could move the court to the right. Kennedy sometimes joined the liberal justices on key rulings on divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights, a practice his replacement may not duplicate.

Kavanaugh has amassed a solidly conservative judicial record since 2006 on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the same court where three current justices including Chief Justice John Roberts previously served. Some conservative activists have questioned whether he would rule sufficiently aggressively as a justice.

Like the 50-year-old Gorsuch, Kavanaugh potentially could serve on the high court for decades. Trump’s other leading candidates for the post were fellow federal appellate judges Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett.

“My judicial philosophy is straightforward: a judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history, and tradition and precedent,” Kavanaugh said during the ceremony in which he emphasized his family and his Roman Catholic faith.

Kavanaugh survived a protracted confirmation fight after Bush picked nominated him to the appeals court in 2003. Some Democrats accused him of excessive partisanship, and it took three years before the Senate eventually voted to confirm him.

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 Senate majority, and with ailing Senator John McCain battling cancer in his home state of Arizona they currently can muster only 50 votes. Senate rules still leave Democrats with scant options to block confirmation by themselves, though Trump must prevent Republican defections.

U.S. President Donald Trump introduces his Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh (L) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they could carefully vet Kavanaugh before deciding how to vote. Democratic senators serving in Republican-leaning states including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota made similar remarks, though top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer blasted Trump’s pick.

‘RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS’

“In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and healthcare protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block,” Schumer said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier in the day accused the “far left” of “scare tactics” to try to thwart the nomination, called Kavanaugh “a superb choice.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kavanaugh was informed on Sunday night he would be the nominee, adding that “what really tipped the scales was the consistency” the judge had shown on the appeals court. The official said the White House reached out to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings, and that only Democrat Kamala Harris “refused to engage.”

Trump last year appointed Gorsuch, who has already become one of the most conservative justices, after Senate Republicans in 2016 refused to consider Democratic former President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland to fill a vacancy left by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. As a result, Democrats have accused Republicans of stealing a Supreme Court seat. Gorsuch restored the court’s conservative majority.

Kavanaugh worked for Starr, whose investigation of Clinton helped spur an effort by congressional Republicans in 1998 and 1999 to impeach the Democratic president and remove him from office. Kavanaugh in 2009 changed his tune on the Starr probe, arguing that presidents should be free from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and investigations while in office.

Slideshow (10 Images)

Trump defeated Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election and has disparaged both Clintons.

Democrats in the past also have pointed to Kavanaugh’s work for Bush during the 2000 recount fight, a controversy that was resolved only after the conservative-majority Supreme Court sided with Bush over Democratic candidate Al Gore, settling the election outcome.

The new justice can be expected to cast crucial votes on other matters of national importance including gay rights, gun control, the death penalty and voting rights. The court could also be called upon to render judgment on issues of personal significance to Trump and his administration including matters arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia-related investigation and several civil lawsuits pending against Trump. </s> Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court

Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court:

"There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving." — President Donald Trump.

"I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law." — Kavanaugh.

"Judge Kavanaugh has sterling academic credentials. He is widely admired for his intellect, experience, and exemplary judicial temperament. ... And his judicial record demonstrates a firm understanding of the role of a judge in our Republic: Setting aside personal views and political preferences in order to interpret our laws as they are written." — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and health care protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block. ... I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same." — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Brett is a brilliant jurist who has faithfully applied the Constitution and laws throughout his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit. He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity." — Former President George W. Bush.

"I look forward to Judge Kavanaugh's public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to questioning him in a meeting in my office." — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate and potentially pivotal vote.

"The Supreme Court will ultimately decide if nearly 800,000 West Virginians with pre-existing conditions will lose their healthcare. This decision will directly impact almost 40% of my state, so I'm very interested in his position on protecting West Virginians with pre-existing conditions." — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a centrist facing re-election this year.

"I will carefully review and consider the record and qualifications of Judge Brett Kavanaugh." — Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., another moderate facing re-election this year.

"I look forward to the upcoming hearings, reviewing the record, and meeting personally with Judge Kavanaugh, with an open mind." — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a libertarian who's privately expressed concerns about Kavanaugh's role during the George W. Bush administration.

"Judge Kavanaugh has a record of adherence to the Constitution and has demonstrated a commitment to interpreting the law — not making it." — Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., facing a competitive re-election contest in November.

"He would tip the balance of the Supreme Court even more against workers' rights, civil rights, and women's rights for decades to come." — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a potential 2020 presidential contender.

"President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be a rubber-stamp for an extreme, right-wing agenda pushed by corporations and billionaires." — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"He is a superb mainstream candidate worthy of the Senate's consideration." — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

"With a subservient Republican Congress and a far-right Supreme Court, there is a real risk that the worst impulses of the Trump presidency will go unchecked." — No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois.

"Sadly, the #Resistance is going to try to bork him by portraying him as a cross between Lex Luthor and Darth Vader." — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

"This is a nominee who wants to pave the path to tyranny." — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. </s> WASHINGTON — Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice Saturday night after the bitterly polarized U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed him. The Senate vote delivered an election-season triumph to President Donald Trump that could swing the court rightward for a generation after a battle that rubbed raw the country's cultural, gender and political divides.

Kavanaugh was quickly sworn in at the court building, across the street from the Capitol, even as protesters chanted outside.

The near party-line Senate vote was 50-48, capping a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — which he emphatically denied. Those allegations magnified the clash from a routine Supreme Court struggle over judicial ideology into an angrier, more complex jumble of questions about victims' rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees.

Acrimonious to the end, the battle featured a climactic roll call that was interrupted several times by protesters in the Senate galleries before Capitol Police removed them. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the roll call, his potential tie-breaking vote unnecessary.

Trump, flying to Kansas for a political rally, flashed a thumbs-up gesture when the tally was announced and praised Kavanaugh for being "able to withstand this horrible, horrible attack by the Democrats."

The vote gave Trump his second appointee to the court, pleasing conservative voters who might have revolted against GOP leaders had Kavanaugh's nomination flopped. Instead, "It's turned our base on fire," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.

Democrats hope that the roll call, exactly a month from elections in which House and Senate control are in play, will do the opposite, prompting infuriated women and liberals to oust Republicans.

"Change must come from where change in America always begins: the ballot box," said Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, looking ahead to November.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, confronting a tough re-election race next month in a state that Trump won in 2016 by a landslide, was the sole Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. Every voting Republican backed the 53-year-old conservative judge.

Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican to oppose the nominee, voted "present," offsetting the absence of Kavanaugh supporter Steve Daines of Montana, who was attending his daughter's wedding. That rare procedural maneuver left Kavanaugh with the same two-vote margin he'd have had if Murkowski and Daines had both voted.

Republicans hold only a 51-49 Senate majority and therefore had little support to spare.

It was the closest roll call to confirm a justice since 1881, when Stanley Matthews was approved by 24-23, according to Senate records.

Within minutes, dozens of political and advocacy groups blasted out emailed reactions.

Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, which contributes to female Democratic candidates, assailed the confirmation of "an alleged sexual assailant and anti-choice radical to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. But we will carry that anger into the election. Women will not forget this."

Kay Coles James, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, called the vote "a victory for liberty in America" and called Kavanaugh "a good man and good jurist."

The outcome, telegraphed Friday when the final undeclared senators revealed their views, was devoid of the shocks that had come almost daily since Christine Blasey Ford said last month that an inebriated Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a 1982 high school get-together.

Since then, the country watched agape as one electric moment after another gushed forth. These included the emergence of two other accusers; an unforgettable Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which a composed Ford and a seething Kavanaugh told their diametrically opposed stories, and a truncated FBI investigation that the agency said showed no corroborating evidence and Democrats lambasted as a White House-shackled farce.

All the while, crowds of demonstrators — mostly Kavanaugh opponents — ricocheted around the Capitol's grounds and hallways, raising tensions, chanting slogans, interrupting lawmakers' debates, confronting senators and often getting arrested. Capitol Police said 164 were arrested, raising that count in recent days well into the hundreds.

Demonstrators protest the appointment of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Washington DC, on October 6, 2018.

Inside the Senate, resentments fanned by the battle showed no signs of receding.

Schumer called the GOP's push for Kavanaugh "one of the least transparent, least fair, most biased processes in Senate history." McConnell said a vote for Kavanaugh showed that the Senate was "a chamber in which the politics of intimidation and personal destruction do not win the day."

Democrats said Kavanaugh would push the court too far, including possible sympathetic rulings for Trump should the president encounter legal problems from the special counsel's investigations into Russian connections with his 2016 presidential campaign. And they said Kavanaugh's record and fuming testimony at a now-famous Senate Judiciary Committee hearing showed he lacked the fairness, temperament and even honesty to become a justice.

But the fight was defined by the sexual assault accusations. And it was fought against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement and Trump's unyielding support of his nominee and occasional mocking of Kavanaugh's accusers.

About 100 anti-Kavanaugh protesters climbed the Capitol's East Steps as the vote approached, pumping fists and waving signs. U.S. Capitol Police began arresting some of them. Hundreds of other demonstrators watched from behind barricades. Protesters have roamed Capitol Hill corridors and grounds daily, chanting, "November is coming," ''Vote them out" and "We believe survivors."

On Friday, in the moment that made clear Kavanaugh would prevail, Collins delivered a speech saying that Ford's Judiciary Committee telling of the alleged 1982 assault was "sincere, painful and compelling." But she also said the FBI had found no corroborating evidence from witnesses whose names Ford had provided.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has repeatedly battled with Trump and will retire in January, wavered but also backed Kavanaugh.

When Trump nominated Kavanaugh in July, Democrats leapt to oppose him, saying that past statements and opinions showed he'd be a threat to the Roe v. Wade case that assured the right to abortion. They said he also seemed too ready to rule for Trump in a possible federal court case against the president.

Yet Kavanaugh's path to confirmation seemed unfettered until Ford and two other women emerged with sexual misconduct allegations from the 1980s.

Kavanaugh replaces the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was a swing vote on issues such as abortion, campaign finance and same-sex marriage.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly, Padmananda Rama, Ken Thomas and Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON — Republican leaders scheduled a Friday vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, following a day-long hearing in which senators heard testimony from a woman who alleges he sexually assaulted her when they were teens.

However, it was unclear whether Republicans had the votes to confirm the nominee after an emotional hearing where Christine Blasey Ford detailed her allegations that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothes at a party when they were both teens.

Ford told the Senate Judiciary Commitee she was "100 percent" confident Kavanaugh was the person who held her down and tried to remove her clothes at a party when they were both teens in 1982. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations.

Friday's vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

Confirmation by Kavanaugh would be an important milestone for Republicans and the president as it would tilt the balance of power on the high court to conservatives.

But Democrats have pointed to the array of accusations and lack of an FBI investigation as a reason to slow down the hearing, potentially allowing more accusations to surface.

President Donald Trump voiced his support for a Friday vote on Twitter, saying Kavanaugh's testimony was "powerful, honest, and riveting."

"Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him," the president said. "Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!"

In testimony that was both fiery and at times tearful, Kavanaugh said the sexual assault allegations had harmed his family and his name. He professed his innocence and accused Democrats of "character assassination." Kavanaugh also pledged to fight for this nomination, saying: "you'll never get me to quit." </s> Federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh officiated in August at the swearing-in of Judge Britt Grant to take a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

WASHINGTON – Brett Kavanaugh will bring a lot of baggage with him to the Supreme Court, adding to perceptions that the third branch of government is just as political as the other two.

Kavanaugh's 50-48 confirmation ends a tumultuous three months in which he was accused of sexual assault and lying under oath. He responded by accusing Democrats and liberal interest groups of a "calculated and orchestrated political hit."

For a high court that already features four conservatives named by Republican presidents and four liberals chosen by Democratic presidents, the addition of a justice viewed as partisan, intemperate or both is almost certain to fuel doubts about the court's legitimacy.

“The court relies to a large extent on people’s sense that it’s not just another partisan institution," says David Strauss, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. "It’s going to be tougher for people to see the court that way.”

Kavanaugh's confirmation was destined to be controversial. Two years ago, Republicans brazenly blocked President Barack Obama's third high court nominee and gave the seat to President Donald Trump's choice. Then Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement put the court's ideological balance in play.

From a list of 25 potential nominees, Trump chose the judge with the longest paper trail and the most political pedigree, someone who had pursued President Bill Clinton toward his eventual impeachment, then served President George W. Bush over two-thirds of his presidency.

With Republicans united behind him, Kavanaugh, 53, survived all that. For several days before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early September, he cited Chief Justice John Roberts in saying that when it comes to politics, judges must "stay not just away from the line, but three zip codes away from the line."

But then came sexual misconduct claims and allegations of excessive drinking in high school and college, which led to a series of embarrassing questions and evasive answers at a second Judiciary Committee hearing last week. With his reputation in tatters, Kavanaugh displayed a temperament judges are supposed to keep hidden.

"This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition groups," he said.

With that single declaration, Supreme Court experts say, he made himself – and, by extension, the court – appear as partisan as the White House and Congress.

“I do think that there’s going to be a lot of hostility toward the court in the new term," says Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. "The question is whether that entrenches the justices in their positions, or whether it becomes sort of a lever to moderate the court.”

Associate Justice Elena Kagan, speaking at Princeton University Friday, said increased partisanship would be a mistake.

"This is a really divided time," Kagan said. "Part of the court’s strength and part of the court’s legitimacy depends on people not seeing the court in the way that people see the rest of the governing structures of this country."

Clarence Thomas decried what he called a "high-tech lynching" during his 1991 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kavanaugh will be watched closely in the days, weeks, months and years ahead for signs of reconciliation or revenge. His behavior on the bench during oral arguments will be one clue, including how he gets along with the other justices on what he has called a "team of nine."

Despite the historically close vote, Kavanaugh isn't alone in emerging from confirmation with battle scars.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed 52-48 in 1991 after being accused by Anita Hill of sexual harassment in the workplace and enduring what he called a "high-tech lynching" at the hands of the Judiciary Committee. Thereafter, he went into self-imposed isolation from the media. He almost never participates in oral arguments.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito was confirmed 58-42 in 2006 after a hearing in which he was forced to say, "I'm not any kind of bigot" – a line of questioning that caused his wife to leave the room in tears. He has said he still avoids walking by the Senate building where his confirmation hearing was held.

"These confirmation fights leave lasting injuries for nominees,” says Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. Kavanaugh, he says, “knows that many people in the country will never accept his denials, so he will be forever an asterisk justice."

Kavanaugh warned senators at last month's sexual assault hearing that "what goes around comes around," which some took to imply revenge from the bench. His allies say the reference was to future nominations, not his actions on the court.

"Some people will never see him as legitimate or worthy of being on the court, but most of those people didn’t like him to begin with," says Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. "So at the end of the day, I think he’ll be attacked and supported sort of in the same way that Thomas has been.”

With a solid conservative majority now, the court will be watched to see if it moves the country that way or issues surprising rulings in the other direction.

Three years after the high court handed the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush by a 5-4 vote many saw as highly partisan, the justices issued two major rulings applauded by liberals. They struck down sodomy laws aimed at gay couples and upheld the limited use of college affirmative action programs.

“Some of the unfortunate perception that Bush v. Gore left with at least a large chunk of the American public was to some degree ameliorated," Vladeck says.

Along those lines, Kavanaugh will be watched for instances in which he sides with those who opposed his confirmation, rather than his conservative supporters.

Michael McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge and director of the constitutional law center at Stanford Law School, predicts Kavanaugh will change public perceptions "by acting as a judge the way he always has, and not how partisan opponents have tried to portray him."

Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe wrote in The New York Times that the newest justice should recuse himself from "cases involving individuals or groups that Judge Kavanaugh has now singled out, under oath and in front of the entire nation, as implacable adversaries."

That, however, is unlikely. Supreme Court justices decide for themselves when to step aside, and they generally do it only if they have a financial stake in the outcome or have been involved in the case at an earlier stage.

Former Supreme Court associate justice John Paul Stevens said this week that Brett Kavanaugh lacks the temperament to serve on the high court.

The anger Kavanaugh displayed in his second Judiciary Committee hearing wasn't welcomed by former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who concluded that he lacks the temperament to serve.

What remains unclear is how Kavanaugh's new colleagues feel. Many know him well: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch clerked with him for Kennedy a quarter-century ago. Kagan hired him to teach a class at Harvard Law School when she was its dean. Roberts, Thomas and Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the same federal appeals court, though at different times.

“It’s highly unlikely that this is going to create a division on the court on some personal level,” Turley says. “The size of this court demands not just compromise but collegiality. It is hard to get anything done if you carve out justices you don’t want to deal with.”

Roberts, only the nation's 17th chief justice, will be watched closely as the keeper of the court's reputation. Coincidentally, he also moves to the center of the court ideologically with Kennedy gone.

“Now more than ever, the pressure’s really going to be on the chief justice,” Vladeck says.

One thing that could rankle the other justices is the likely presence of protesters inside the august marble courtroom, usually a place for polite oral arguments where even whispering is frowned upon. After the Bush v. Gore ruling in 2000 and the Citizens United v. FEC campaign finance ruling a decade later, protests proliferated.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if they ramped up security a little bit,” Shapiro says.

Ultimately, one test of the court's ability to maintain its reputation will be the reaction of other levels and branches of government. States and lower courts can drag their feet when it comes to implementing Supreme Court directives. Presidents can put pressure on sitting justices. The House of Representatives can bring impeachment proceedings.

“The long-term effects on the court might be substantial," Strauss says. "There are a lot of ways in which the court can lose its influence.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.