On Monday night President Donald Trump appointed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States to fill the recent vacancy left by former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. The 53 year old Kavanaugh graduated from Yale Law School, previously clerked for Justice Kennedy, and was most recently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Shortly after President Trump made his announcement, Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake released statements regarding Kavanaugh’s appointment. Senator McCain thanked Justice Kennedy “for his distinguished service on the United States Supreme Court,” and his work on “consequential rulings on some of history’s most important issues.” Senator McCain also applauded President Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh, stating the he is a “fair, independent, and mainstream judge” with “impeccable credentials and a strong record of upholding the Constitution.” Senator Flake’s statement noted that he looked forward to review Kavanaugh’s credentials and that “approving a nominee who will interpret the Constitution rather than legislate from the bench should be our top priority.”
Martha McSally and Andy Biggs, Republican U.S. Representatives for Arizona, joined McCain’s and Flake’s praise for Kavanaugh. Representative McSally specifically noted that Kavanaugh is a “highly qualified nominee,” and that his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution was “faithful to the Framers’ original design.” Representative Biggs urged his colleagues in the Senate to “swiftly confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh,” adding that Justice Kennedy’s vacancy, “represents a critical juncture between adherence to our founders’ designs or a misguided reliance on the Constitution as a ‘living document.”
