The last 'swing'? High court 'reliability' and rule of law

The nation’s highest court appears poised to take a hard turn toward the ideological right, after President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.

A lifelong Washingtonian and a pillar of the conservative legal community there, Judge Kavanaugh’s educational background and extensive legal experience – including two degrees from Yale University and 12 years on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit – made him an early frontrunner to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement last month. He is Mr. Trump’s second nominee to the Supreme Court – the US Senate confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch last year – and while a bruising confirmation process awaits, it is likely that he will also be confirmed, further entrenching a conservative majority on the court that could transform American life.

“My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent, and must interpret the law, not make the law,” Kavanaugh said after Trump announced his nomination Monday night. “A judge