President Donald Trump‘s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, is scheduled to sit for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee starting Tuesday morning. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would be filling the seat left vacant by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. The hearing is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET. Watch live in the player above.
While Kennedy was viewed as more of a centrist, Kavanaugh has a record of being a staunch conservative. Among the major issues that are expected to come up at the hearing is Kavanaugh’s stance on abortion and whether he would be in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh has reportedly acknowledged that Roe is settled law, but he has also hinted that he’d want to overturn it if he had the chance.
Another major point of contention could be Kavanaugh’s views on whether a sitting president can face criminal investigation. He has previously written about how he believes a sitting president should have immunity in order to focus on the responsibilities of the office. Current Justice Department policy is that a president cannot be indicted while in office for that very reason, but they can still be investigated. As President Trump is currently being looked at by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice, this could be a big deal. Should an issue regarding the Mueller probe go before the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh’s presence could be of great importance, and there would likely be calls for him to recuse himself should such a situation arise.
Kavanaugh currently serves as a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit alongside Judge Merrick Garland, who was famously passed over when President Barack Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court in 2016.
[Image via MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images]
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