Donald Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh for court, setting up fight with Democrats
President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected judge, for the Supreme Court Monday night, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court ever further to the right. A favorite of the Republican legal establishment in Washington, Kavanaugh, 53, is a former law clerk for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Like Trump’s first nominee last year, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh would be a young addition who could help remake the court for decades to come with rulings that could restrict abortion, expand gun rights and roll back key parts of Obamacare. “He is a brilliant jurist, with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time,” Trump said in his prime-time televised White House announcement. He added: “There is no one in America more qualified for this position, and no one more deserving.” With Kavanaugh, Trump is replacing a swing vote on the nine-member court with a staunch conservative. Kavanaugh, who serves on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is expected to be less receptive to abortion and gay rights than Kennedy was. He also has taken an expansive view of executive power and has favored limits on investigating the president. Speaking at the White House, Kavanaugh pledged to preserve the Constitution and said that “a judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written.” A senior White House official said Trump made his final decision on the nomination Sunday evening, then phoned Kavanaugh to inform him. The official said Trump decided on Kavanaugh because of his large body of jurisprudence cited by other courts, describing him as a judge that other judges read. On Monday, Trump phoned retiring Justice Kennedy to inform him that his former law clerk would be nominated to fill his seat. Trump signed Kavanaugh’s nomination papers Monday evening in the White House residence. Top contenders had included federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett and Thomas Hardiman. Some conservatives have expressed concerns about Kavanaugh, questioning his commitment to social issues like abortion and noting his time serving under President George W. Bush as evidence he is a more establishment choice. But his supporters have cited his experience and wide range of legal opinions. With Democrats determined to vigorously oppose Trump’s choice, the Senate confirmation battle is expected to dominate the months leading up to November’s midterm elections. Senate Republicans hold only a 51-49 majority, leaving them hardly any margin if Democrats hold the line. Democratic senators running for re-election in states Trump carried in 2016 will face pressure to back his nominee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Kavanaugh “a superb choice” and said senators would start meeting with him this week. Some Republican senators had favored other options. Rand Paul of Kentucky had expressed concerns but tweeted that he looked forward to meeting with Kavanaugh “with an open mind.” Democrats and liberal advocacy groups quickly lined up in opposition. Signaling the fight ahead on abortion rights, Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement: “There’s no way to sugarcoat it: With this nomination, the constitutional right to access safe, legal abortion in this country is on the line. The White House invited a number of senators to attend the Monday night announcement. Democrats who were invited but declined included Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Dianne Feinstein of California. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. The others are Republican targets for the confirmation vote who come from Trump-won states where they face re-election this fall. Democrats have turned their attention to pressuring two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to oppose any nominee who threatens Roe v. Wade. The two have supported access to abortion services. Kavanaugh is likely to be more conservative than Justice Kennedy on a range of social issues. At the top of that list is abortion. A more conservative majority could be more willing to uphold state restrictions on abortion, if not overturn the 45-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a woman’s constitutional right. Kennedy’s replacement also could be more willing to allow states to carry out executions and could support undoing earlier court holdings in the areas of racial discrimination in housing and the workplace. Kennedy provided a decisive vote in 2015 on an important fair housing case. Like the other eight justices on the court, Kavanaugh has an Ivy League law degree, spending his undergraduate and law school years at Yale. Since 2006, he has been a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington. He also was a key aide to Kenneth Starr during Starr’s investigation of President Bill Clinton, worked on behalf of George W. Bush’s campaign during the election recount in 2000 and served in the Bush White House. Kavanaugh’s many written opinions provide insight into his thinking and also will be fodder for Senate Democrats who will seek to block his confirmation. He has written roughly 300 opinions as a judge, authored several law journal articles, regularly taught law school classes and spoken frequently in public. Kavanaugh’s views on presidential power and abortion are expected to draw particular attention in his confirmation hearing. Drawing on his experience working on the Clinton investigation and then in the Bush White House, he wrote in a 2009 law review article that he favored exempting presidents from facing both civil suits and criminal investigations, including indictment, while in office. That view has particular relevance as special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign played any role in a foreign interference plot. On abortion, Kavanaugh voted in October to delay an abortion for a teenage immigrant who was in government
Donald Trump signs bill for terminal patients to try unproven drugs
President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday aimed at helping people with deadly diseases try experimental treatments, calling it a “fundamental freedom” that will offer hope and save lives. Joined by families dealing with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, and other diseases, Trump signed the so-called Right to Try bill and said he never understood why the issue had lagged for years and Congress hadn’t acted sooner. “There were no options. But now you have hope — you really have hope,” Trump said. He noted that “for many years, patients, advocates and lawmakers have fought for this fundamental freedom.” The bill cleared the House last week following an emotional debate in which Republicans said it would help thousands of people in search of hope. Many Democrats said the measure was dangerous and would give patients false hope. As he distributed pens after signing the bill at a small table, 8-year-old Jordan McLinn of Indianapolis, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, waited to embrace the president, drawing laughter in the auditorium when he put his elbow on the table and held up his chin. Trump hugged McLinn and kissed him on the forehead. “He’s going to be fantastic,” the president told McLinn’s mother. The president was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and some of the bill’s allies in Congress, including Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind. Trump had supported efforts to gain access to the treatments during his 2016 campaign. In his State of the Union address, the president said people who are terminally shouldn’t have to travel “from country to country to seek a cure.” The measure would give people diagnosed with life-threatening conditions who have exhausted treatment options the ability to gain access to unproven drugs without first getting permission from the FDA. New drugs normally undergo years of expensive testing before manufacturers seek and gain FDA approval to market them. Opponents of the bill said it would empower “fly-by-night physicians” to offer false hope and ineffective drugs to patients who are desperate for treatment. They also said that the bill created the incorrect impression that the FDA serves as a bottleneck that deprives dying patients of unproven options. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Second Democratic senator publicly backing Donald Trump’s CIA pick
A second Democratic senator has announced his support for President Donald Trump’s CIA nominee. Joe Donnelly of Indiana says in a statement Saturday that he made his decision after “a tough, frank and extensive discussion” with Gina Haspel, the spy agency’s acting director. The other Democrat who’s come out for Haspel is West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. Both Democrats are considered to be among the most vulnerable Senate incumbents in the November election. So far two Republicans have announced their opposition to Haspel: Kentucky’s Rand Paul and Arizona’s John McCain, who’s battling cancer and isn’t expected to be present for the voting. Supporters are pushing for votes by the Senate intelligence committee and the full Senate before the Senate’s Memorial Day break. The GOP holds a 51-49 edge, and Vice President Mike Pence can break a possible tie. Haspel has run into criticism because she was once involved in the CIA’s harsh interrogation program. “I believe that she has learned from the past, and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats and challenges,” Donnelly says in the statement. Donnelly came under attack from Trump at a rally in Indiana on Thursday, two days after the state’s primary election determined that his Republican opponent in November will be former Indiana lawmaker Mike Braun. Trump, who was joined at the rally by Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor, urged GOP voters to mobilize and prevent Democrats from regaining control of Congress. The president called Donnelly “Sleepin’ Joe” and criticized the senator for opposing his tax plan and attempt to end the Affordable Care Act. Donnelly responded by saying “problems only get solved when you roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work,” and his campaign said he had voted with Trump 62 percent of the time. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Ads supporting Jeff Sessions seek to pressure Dems for AG confirmation
A new ad campaign produced by a conservative advocacy group is supporting Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as attorney general. As reported by POLITICO, the ads will run primarily in three conservative-leaning states with Democratic senators who will be pressured to confirm Donald Trump’s pick for top cop. The first round of pro-Sessions spots – coming from the Judicial Crisis Network – will start this weekend with a 30-second ad highlighting Alabama residents who praise Sessions as U.S. senator from Alabama. “Senator Sessions saw that there was a real need for the families that were losing their loved ones,” said Johnny Spann, an Alabama resident whose son, Mike, was the first American combat casualty in the 2001 war in Afghanistan. “For him to be in charge of the highest law enforcement agency, he’s the kind of person that needs to be there.” In honor of Mike Spann’s sacrifice, Sessions spearheaded legislation in 2002 to help facilitate private funds to be donated to widows and orphans of military and national security personnel killed during the U.S. war on terrorism. The digital and cable ad campaign, which POLITICO estimates at more than half a million dollars, will also run in Missouri, Indiana and North Dakota – states with Democrats targeted to bring bipartisan support of Sessions’ nomination. The three Democrats are Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a red-state Democrat seeking re-election in 2018, has confirmed he would support Sessions. The ads will also appear in the Washington, D.C. area. “Senator Sessions is a good man whose service to his state makes it clear that he will turn DOJ around and make it an agency that every American can be proud of,” JCN chief counsel Carrie Severino told POLITICO. “He will abide by the Constitution, he will put public safety ahead of political agendas, and he will prosecute corrupt public officials regardless of political party.” The first ad, titled “Getting it Right” is now available on YouTube:
