Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh: What You Need To Know

President Donald Trump nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy that will be left by retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Here’s what you need to know.

The Judge's Background

Kavanaugh launched his career by serving as a law clerk for an array of judges before clerking for Kennedy in 1993.

From there, he served as an associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel. In this position, Kavanaugh became a key player in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, as he dealt with many legal issues surrounding the investigation and contributed to the Starr Report.

From there, Kavanaugh served both as a lawyer and press secretary for President George W. Bush. Also under the Bush administration, he was sworn into the United States Court of Appeals in 2003. 

Kavanaugh's Abortion Stance 

In his Court of Appeals confirmation hearing in 2006, Kavanaugh expressed his legal viewpoint on Roe v. Wade.

"If confirmed to the D.C. Circuit, I would follow Roe v. Wade faithfully and fully. That would be binding precedent of the court. It's been decided by the Supreme Court." Kavanaugh said.

The jurist has otherwise refused to reveal his personal views on the matter. One court case may prove to be more indicative of his leanings. 

In 2017, Kavanaugh served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that decided whether a pregnant 17-year-old immigrant would be allowed to leave custody to obtain an abortion. Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion on the case, stating the court “had broken new constitutional ground by authorizing ‘immediate abortion on demand’ by ‘unlawful immigrant minors.’”

The Affordable Care Act

In 2011, Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion when Obamacare was upheld, arguing that the case had no jurisdiction. His opinion was rooted in the the 1867 Anti-Injunction Act; he argued the court had no right to hear the case at all.

Guns

One of Kavanaugh’s most noteworthy dissenting opinions came in a 2011 case dealing with the District of Columbia's semi-automatic rifle ordinance. The case arose from the push for laws that would require gun owners to register their firearms, while also banning the use of semiautomatic rifles.

Kavanaugh claimed that “while the government may ban fully automatic machine guns, a ban on semiautomatic rifles should be unconstitutional because they have not traditionally been banned and are in common use by law-abiding citizens for self-defense in the home, hunting and other lawful uses.”

Kavanaugh began meeting with senators on Capitol Hill this week. 

Related Links: 

What Trump's SCOTUS Pick Will Mean For The Stock Market 

Supreme Court Overturns Sports Betting Ban In New Jersey Case

White House photo.