--- title: Donald Trump's Supreme Court Pick Reflects GOP Mainstream description: President Donald Trump's second nominee for the Supreme Court is in harmony with the current Republican Party's mainstream. canonical: https://time.com/5334234/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-experts/ author: Abby Vesoulis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-10T04:08:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T18:51:40.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Legal Experts Say President Trump's Supreme Court Pick Reflects GOP Mainstream og:description: "Almost any Republican would have likely given strong consideration to Kavanaugh." og:url: https://time.com/5334234/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-experts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7079185b7411c34c/698934f0fb4eac6b67897134/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee-1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Legal Experts Say President Trump's Supreme Court Pick Reflects GOP Mainstream twitter:description: "Almost any Republican would have likely given strong consideration to Kavanaugh." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7079185b7411c34c/698934f0fb4eac6b67897134/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-nominee-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:25 video:published: 2018-07-10 section: politics topics: Supreme Court nomination, judicial appointments, American judiciary, Anthony Kennedy's seat, constitutional liberty, presidential consultation genre: news, speech tones: formal, grateful, humble, celebratory emotions: pride (medium), gratitude (medium), humility (medium) sentiment: positive audience: political news followers, legal professionals, policy observers, general news audiences people: Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Anthony Kennedy, Ronald Reagan organizations: United States Supreme Court transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Legal Experts Say President Trump's Supreme Court Pick Reflects GOP Mainstream > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=24066d78-839f-4c4b-a4f4-b91439c2e0e0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Names New Supreme Court Justice [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Names New Supreme Court Justice](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MC8Xtl37.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2018-07-10. President Donald Trump announced Monday evening that he had selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, his second choice in less than two years._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump announces that he will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Kavanaugh thanks the president for his consultation process and expresses humility at the nomination. He draws a connection to Anthony Kennedy, whose seat he would fill, and to the Constitution's purpose of securing liberty. ## Key points - Trump announces he will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. (00:00) - Kavanaugh says he has witnessed the president's appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. (00:22) - Kavanaugh says he is grateful to the president and humbled by his confidence in him. (00:50) - Kavanaugh notes that 30 years ago, President Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. (00:58) - Kavanaugh says the framers established that the Constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. (01:05) - Kavanaugh says Justice Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. (01:13) - Kavanaugh says he is deeply honored to be nominated to fill Kennedy's seat on the Supreme Court. (01:18) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:22] Trump announces Kavanaugh nomination. The president announces he will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, followed by applause. - [00:22 to 00:50] Kavanaugh thanks the president. Kavanaugh praises the president's consultation process and expresses gratitude and humility. - [00:50 to 01:25] Kavanaugh honors Kennedy's legacy. Kavanaugh links his nomination to Anthony Kennedy's seat and to the Constitution's purpose of securing liberty. ## Key quotes - [00:36] Brett Kavanaugh: "No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds." - [00:50] Brett Kavanaugh: "I am grateful to you, and I'm humbled by your confidence in me." - [00:58] Brett Kavanaugh: "30 years ago, President Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court." - [01:05] Brett Kavanaugh: "The framers established that the Constitution. Is designed to secure the blessings of liberty." - [01:18] Brett Kavanaugh: "I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court." ## Questions this video answers - Who did President Trump nominate to the Supreme Court? [00:00] - Whose seat on the Supreme Court is Kavanaugh being nominated to fill? [01:18] - How does Kavanaugh describe the president's consultation process for the nomination? [00:36] - Which president originally nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court? [00:58] - What does Kavanaugh say the Constitution is designed to secure? [01:05] by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/) and [Abigail Simon](https://time.com/author/abigail-simon/) Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:51 PM UTCPublished: Jul 10, 2018 4:08 AM UTC President Donald Trump announced Monday evening that he had selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, his second choice in less than two years. by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/) and [Abigail Simon](https://time.com/author/abigail-simon/) Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:51 PM UTCPublished: Jul 10, 2018 4:08 AM UTC President Donald Trump’s second nominee for the Supreme Court is in harmony with the current Republican Party’s mainstream — a sign of just how much he has relied on the GOP Establishment in his judiciary decisions, court experts say. In his selection of federal appellate judge [Brett Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5333655/donald-trump-supreme-court-pick/) Monday evening, Trump again drew from a [list of potential Supreme Court justices](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-supreme-court-list/) that he drafted during the 2016 election with the help of conservative legal organizations like the Federalist Society. He was also [advised](http://time.com/5330230/donald-trump-justice-kennedy-supreme-court-vacancy-candidates/) by White House counsel Don McGahn, a leading force behind Trump’s list, and by outside consultant Leonard Leo, who is on leave from the Federalist Society. Kavanaugh was reportedly McGahn’s [preferred](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-judges-kavanaugh-barrett.html) choice. For legal scholars and GOP donors alike, the pick was predictable, noticeably lacking Trump’s flair for the unconventional on issues such as trade and foreign policy. Kavanaugh “would have been the frontrunner to be nominated if it was a President Bush or a President Rubio,” said David Fontana, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University and a former clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. “Of all the things that Trump has done, this is by far the least surprising.” Trump’s campaign list of potential nominees was intended to assuage Republican voters who were concerned that Trump — who once [mused](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/11/donald-trump-says-his-older-sister-isnt-interested-in-becoming-a-supreme-court-judge/?utm%5Fterm=.dbf7600496a6) about picking his older sister for a nomination — might not pick a conservative enough justice. And it worked. Following the [death of Antonin Scalia](http://time.com/4220762/antonin-scalia-dead-republican-party-senate-congress/) and the [blocked nomination of Merrick Garland,](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/senate-obama-merrick-garland-supreme-court-nominee/482733/) the winner of 2016’s presidential election was going to have the power to shift the ideological makeup of the court — the possibility of which played a significant role in drawing people to the polls. According to data from a CNN [exit poll](https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls/national/president), 70% of voters said that Supreme Court appointments were “important” to their vote. And, of those who said it was the “most important factor” in their decision, over half voted for Trump. “The point of the list was to signal as strongly as possible to social conservatives and other members of the GOP constituency that he would pick somebody that they found reliable,” said Michael Dorf, a former Supreme Court clerk of Justice Anthony Kennedy and a current law professor at Cornell. Notably, Kavanaugh was not on the first rendition of Trump’s list, which started at 11 people and later expanded to 25\. “When the first list came out, many people remarked that Kavanaugh wasn’t on the list,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley Law School. “I remember hearing speculation that he was thought of as more mainstream than other people on the list — he’s got the traditional credentials of people on the Supreme Court.” And, indeed, Kavanaugh’s credentials are notable. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Kennedy before serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “Almost any Republican would have likely given strong consideration to someone with Kavanaugh’s credentials, record and likely votes,” Dorf said. While Trump makes unorthodox decisions on his [trade policies](http://time.com/5214228/what-is-trade-war/), his [Cabinet selections](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/21/us/politics/scott-pruitt-oklahoma-epa.html) and even his political rhetoric, experts say his judicial nominations have been conventional. “You never can fully predict what Donald Trump might do, but, as I said, if you were to imagine who would be the most predictable product of a process outsourced to the Federalist Society — Brett Kavanaugh is a D.C. insider,” said Anil Kalhan, a law professor at Drexel. “He was practically incubated in the conservative legal movement’s lab.” **Correction July 10** The original version of this story misstated a quote from Anil Kalhan. He said Brett Kavanaugh was incubated in a conservative “lab,” not a conservative “lap.” ## Transcript [00:00] Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I [00:03] will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United [00:08] States Supreme [00:13] Court. [00:17] [ APPLAUSE ] [00:22] Mr. President Thank you. Throughout [00:26] this process, I have witnessed firsthand your [00:30] appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. [00:36] No president has ever consulted more widely or [00:40] talked with more people from more backgrounds. To [00:44] seek input about a Supreme Court nomination. Mr. [00:50] President, I am grateful to you, and I'm humbled [00:54] by your confidence in me. 30 years ago, President [00:58] Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme [01:01] Court. The framers established that [01:05] the Constitution. Is designed to secure the [01:09] blessings of liberty. Justice [01:13] Kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. 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