The issue of abortion, making sure that women in their states and across the country had access. So that was something that they thought carefully about. Its different, i guess, when theyre voting on an issue rather than putting somebody up on the court who may or may not hold those beliefs. Its also going to be interesting to see, jake, tonight how much the president speaks before actually getting to what everyone is gathered here to hear. Yeah, because he loves this moment. Gorsuch, you might remember, during that rocky first half of his first year gorsuch was one of the moments that went off pretty well, whatever you think of him as a judge or as a nominee. That announcement went well compared to so many other things in the First Six Months of his presidency. And, look, i mean this is a president who weve made it to 9 01, and we still do not know for sure who it is. And there is the president. Lets listen in. [ applause ] my fellow americans, tonight i speak to you from the east room of the white house regarding one of the most profound responsibilities of the president of the United States. And that is the selection of a Supreme Court justice. I have often heard that other than matters of war and peace, this is the most important decision a president will make. The Supreme Court is entrusted with the safeguarding of the crown jewel of our republic the constitution of the United States. 12 days ago, Justice Anthony kennedy informed me of his decision to take senior status on the Supreme Court, opening a new vacancy. For more than four decades, Justice Kennedy served our nation with incredible passion and devotion. Id like to thank Justice Kennedy for a lifetime of distinguished service. [ applause ] in a few moments, i will announce my selection for Justice Kennedys replacement. This is the second time i have been faced with this task. Last year i nominated judge neil gorsuch to replace the late, great justice antonin scalia. [ applause ] i chose Justice Gorsuch because i knew that he, just like Justice Scalia, would be a faithful servant of our constitution. We are honored to be joined tonight by Justice Scalias beloved wife, maureen. [ applause ] thank you, maureen. Both Justice Kennedy and Justice Scalia were appointed by a president who understood that the best defense of our liberty and a Judicial Branch immune from political prejudice were judges that apply the constitution as written. That president happened to be Ronald Reagan. For this evenings announcement, we are joined by Ronald Reagans attorney general, edwin meese. [ applause ] and, ed, i speak for everyone. Thank you for everything youve done to protect our nations great legal heritage. In keeping with president reagans legacy, i do not ask about a nominees personal opinions. What matters is not a judges political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the constitution require. 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 StatesSupreme Court. [ applause ] [ applause ] i know the people in this room very well. They do not stand and give applause like that very often. So they have some respect and bretts wife, ashley, and their two daughters, margaret and liza have joined us on the podium. Thank you and congratulations to you as a family. Thank you. [ applause ] judge kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. A graduate of yale college and yale law school, judge kavanaugh currently teaches at harvard, yale, and georgetown. Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judges judge, a true thought leader among his peers. Hes 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 clerk for Justice Kennedy. Thats great. Thank you. [ applause ] judge kavanaugh has devoted his life to Public Service. For the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the d. C. Circuit court of appeals with great distinction, authoring over 300 opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight, and rigorous adherence to the law. Among those opinions are more than a dozen that the Supreme Court has adopted as the law of the land. Beyond his great renown as a judge, he is active in his community. He coaches cyo basketball, serves meals to needy families, and having learned from his mom, who was a schoolteacher in d. C. , tutors children at local elementary schools. There is no one in america more qualified for this position and no one more deserving. I want to thank the senators on both sides of the aisle, republican and democrat, for their consultation and advice during the selection process. This incredibly qualified nominee deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan support. The rule of law is our nations proud heritage. It is the cornerstone of our freedom. It is what guarantees equal justice, and the senate now has the chance to protect this glorious heritage by sending judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United StatesSupreme Court. And now, judge, the podium is yours. [ applause ] mr. President , thank you. Throughout this process, i have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the american judiciary. No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination. Mr. President , i am grateful to you, and im humbled by your confidence in me. 30 years ago, president reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. The framers established that the constitution is designed to secure the blessings of liberty. Justice kennedy devoted his career to securing liberty. I am deeply honored to be nominated to fill his seat on the Supreme Court. [ applause ] my mom and dad are here. I am their only child. When people ask what its like to be an only child, i say it depends on who your parents are. I was lucky. My mom was a teacher. In the 1960s and 70s, she taught history and two largely africanamerican Public High Schools in washington, d. C. , mckinley tech and h. D. Woodson. Her example taught me the importance of equality for all americans. My mom was a trailblazer. When i was ten, she went to law school and became a prosecutor. My introduction to law came at our dinner table when she practiced her closing arguments. Her trademark line was use your common sense. What rings true . What rings false . Thats good advice for a juror and for a son. One of the few women prosecutors at that time, she overcame barriers and became a trial judge. The president introduced me tonight as judge kavanaugh. But to me, that title will always belong to my mom. My dad went to law school at night while working full time. He has an unparalleled work ethic and has passed down to me his passion for playing and watching sports. I love him dearly. The motto of my Jesuit High School was men for others. Ive tried to live that creed. Ive spent my career in Public Service from the executive branch in the white house to the u. S. Court of appeals for the d. C. Circuit. Ive served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend. 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. For the past 11 years ive taught hundreds of students primarily at harvard law school. I teach that the constitutions separation of powers protects individual liberty, and i remain grateful to the dean who hired me, Justice Elena kagan. As a judge, i hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best. My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view. I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women. I am part of the vibrant Catholic Community in the d. C. Area. The members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united by a commitment to serve. Father john ensler is here. 40 years ago i was an altar boy for father john. These days i help him serve meals to the homeless at Catholic Charities. I have two spirited daughters, margaret and liza. Margaret loves sports, and she loves to read. Liza loves sports, and she loves to talk. [ laughter ] i have tried to create bonds with my daughters like my dad created with me. For the past seven years, ive coached my daughters basketball teams. The girls on the team call me coach k. [ laughter ] i am proud of our bless sacrament team that just won the city championship. [ applause ] my daughters and i also go to lots of games. Our favorite memory was going to the historic Notre Dame UconnWomens Basketball game at this years final four. Unforgettable. My wife, ashley, is a west texan, a graduate of Abilene CooperPublic High School and the university of texas. She is now the town manager of our community. We met in 2001 when we both worked in the white house. Our first date was on september 10th, 2001. The next morning, i was a few steps behind her as the secret service shouted at all of us to sprint out the front gates of the white house because there was an inbound plane. In the difficult weeks that followed, ashley was a source of strength for president bush and for everyone in this building. Through bad days and so many better days since then, she has been a great wife and inspiring mom. I thank god every day for my family. [ applause ] tomorrow i begin meeting with members of the senate, which plays an essential role in this process. I will tell each senator that i revere the constitution. 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. Thank you, mr. President. [ applause ] [ applause ] live from our nations capital, welcome to prime time. I moment that will serve make history in the United States. We now know President Trumps nominee for the next seat on the Supreme Court vacated by Justice Anthony kennedy, and it is Brett Kavanaugh. Lets get right to the analysis. We have some great minds for you. Lets start with our chief washington correspondent, host of the lead and state of the union, jake tapper. Whats the initial reaction . Well, i think youre going to see a lot of statements from senators saying im going to take this person seriously, et cetera. One key statement weve seen from Chuck Schumer said hes going to oppose Brett Kavanaughs nomination with everything he has. One thing we should point out is that there are two different careers of Brett Kavanaugh. One is the career as a judge. Hes been on the d. C. Court of appeals, and jeffrey and joan will talk more about that. The other is hes been a political operative works in the worlds of conservative lawyers, conservative operators, and this is where i think its going to be very contentious in the senate because more than a decade ago when he was up for his first judgeship, schumer referred to his nomination, Brett Kavanaughs nomination, as not just a dash of salt in the partisan wounds, but the whole shaker. They held it up for what, three years almost . It was part of that whole deal, the gang of 14. Ultimately he was confirmed. You have to understand dick durbin, the Number Two Senate democrat, referred to him once, Brett Kavanaugh, as the forrest gump of conservative politics. Thats not fair to his intellect or his very fine legal mind, but it is fair to the fact that he does crop up throughout republican politics, especially flash events. For instance, he worked for ken starr, and he was behind the scenes pushing for some of the most salacious, invasive in the views of bill clinton, questions about bill clinton. He represented Eliane Gonzalez and the attempt to keep Eliane Gonzalez here. He was on the Bush Legal Team in bush v. Gore. He was the staff secretary for george w. Bush and was there as well as in the White House Counsels Office for some of those events. So in addition to all the questions about his rulings hes going to face, he is going to face so many questions about his moments working as a political operative. Now, on the other hand, so did john roberts. Now, he wasnt quite the same thing. He wasnt the whole shaker of salt as Chuck Schumer said. But he also was a political operative, and he made it through okay. So what does trump and co know about the process and what they can sell about kavanaugh that will offset this resist ansz we expect from schumer and the democrats. The fact that they have a majority in the senate. Simple as that. They dont think hes somebody who would pull away some of the more vulnerable republicans, collins, murkowski. I dont think there is anything in the record that will make collins and murkowski say he is obviously flag rantly against roe v. Wade if that is the one thing theyre looking for. I do not see anything in his record that would suggest that. In fact there was a ruling he made about abortion and whether or not an undocumented immigrant who was trying to get an abortion whether or not the government had to facilitate it. He ruled against her, but he didnt slap it down as strongly as conservatives wanted him to. So letsably in some voices. We have joan biss coupic, our Supreme Court analyst and jeffrey toobin, chief legal correspondent. In that case, it really is the only thing we have on point with this particular nominee about what could be roe v. Wade jurisprudence. He was a dissenting opinion in that case, but he did take some time to talk about his dislike for the idea of unfettered access immediately to an undocumented immigrant for an abortion, and yet to jakes points, what does this look like in terms of confirmation . Well, you know, numbers matter. And there is a republican majority, a small one. Very small. But a republican majority in the senate. And the only two votes that appear to be in play, Susan Collins and lisa murkowski, have voted for every single judicial appointment that donald trump has made, including neil gorsuch. So the odds of peeling them off are difficult, but, you know, lets see how the process plays out. I mean i think the most important witness here in a way is not Brett Kavanaugh. Its donald trump because donald trump said during the campaign, in the most explicit way, said it to jake in interviews, said it publicly, said it during the debates with hillary clinton, i will appoint prolife justices who will vote to overturn roe v. Wade. Right. I think thats what he meant. Tonight he said something very different. He talked about Ronald Reagan. He had edwin meese in attendance. He said, i want to agree with Ronald Reagan in saying its not about their views. He said the exact opposite on the campaign trail. However, he wont be the one who is getting vetted by the senate right now. Its going to be kavanaugh. How do you think he stands up, joan . I think hes got a very strong fighting chance for two reasons having to do with his experience. Not just that he has the 12 years on the d. C. Circuit, very distinguished record there, but no real flashpoints that could sink him. But ill tell you what else he has. That experience that jake talked about, hes been there. Hes been behind the scenes. I think he took a strong hand in his own nomination because, remember, this was a man who was identified with george w. Bush in every way. He worked there as staff secretary. He had worked in the White House Counsels Office. He married george bushs personal secretary. He had worked in the george h. W. Bush administration. Donald trump had to get over that to pick him. It obviously took some time. He wasnt on the first two offerings in 2016. But that gets me to my point about what kind of witness he can be for himself. Okay. He opened tonight by first saluting the president , saying, youve talked to more people than any other president. Which he would know. We know that you know