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Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh as new US Supreme Court nominee

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has picked Trump picks Brett Kavanaugh as new US Supreme Court nominee replacing Anthony Kennedy as his new United States Supreme Court nominee, announcing his decision Monday night in a prime-time televised address.

“He talked about doing service in D.C. soup kitchens, His mom being a teacher in D.C. public schools,” UNCC political science professor Eric Heberlig said. “It’s a way of showing how he understands the broader perspective of life -- that he's not just this D.C. conservative Republican who is out of touch.”

If confirmed, Kavanaugh will replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, a crucial swing vote on the court, when Kennedy steps down at the end of the month.

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With the nomination of Kavanaugh, Trump has cemented the conservative bent of the U.S. Supreme Court for potentially several generations.

A Washington insider, Kavanaugh, 53, has served on the D.C. Circuit Court since 2006 and has a long and solid record as a conservative jurist. The federal appeals court judge, who attended Yale Law School and clerked under Kennedy, also worked for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in the 1990s and played a crucial role in writing the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

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