Last night, President Donald Trump exercised what he referred to as “the most important decision a President can make” when he nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring from the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh was one of the names on a short list of potential nominees circulated over the past week, alongside Amy Barrett, Raymond Kethledge and Thomas Hardiman.
Shortly after the announcement, many Texas Republicans immediately took to Twitter to celebrate the nomination.
#SCOTUS nominee Kavanaugh gets prolonged & robust applause from Senators on his announcement. This bodes well for the strength of support he should get for confirmation. Kavanaugh brings substantial credentials to @Scotus. @SCOTUSblog #tcot https://t.co/AGyDo6GsY6
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 10, 2018
President Trump has made a terrific appointment. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is an impressive judge w/widespread support from senators, including @JohnCornyn & @tedcruz. He will be a principled addition to the Supreme Court. Can you imagine who Hillary Clinton would have appointed?
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) July 10, 2018
Congratulations to our next #SCOTUS Justice Brett Kavanaugh! May the rule of law prevail.
— Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 10, 2018
Sen. Ted Cruz, who in the past week had criticized Kavanaugh as not adequately conservative, referred to him as “one of the most respected federal judges in the country,” adding that he was looking forward to confirming his nomination.
By any measure, Judge Kavanaugh is one of the most respected federal judges in the country and I look forward to supporting his nomination to #SCOTUS: pic.twitter.com/3xTDmmmTEQ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 10, 2018
Predictably, Democrats immediately rolled out an opposition campaign, created before they knew who the nominee even was, in their perpetual battle against Trump.
A vote for Brett Kavanaugh is a vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and gut the Affordable Care Act. RT if you oppose the criminalization of abortion and believe health care should be a right for all, not just a privilege for the few. #WhatsAtStake pic.twitter.com/cs8uzGJdSq
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) July 10, 2018
Trump's Supreme Court appointment represents an attack on health care protections and a woman's right to choose. If we want to stop Trump from packing our judicial bench, we must elect Beto O’Rourke to the U.S. Senate: https://t.co/JzDhs5xCFP
— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) July 10, 2018
Though Democrats are lining up against Trump’s nominee, the Republican-controlled Senate only requires a simple majority to confirm federal judicial nominees, a change made under former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to ram through several Democrat nominees for the D.C. district court by former President Barack Obama.
The vote in the Senate will likely take place in the coming weeks before the Supreme Court begins their next session on October 1.
Kavanaugh is the second Supreme Court nomination from Trump. Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to the court last year to replace deceased Justice Antonin Scalia.
