Trump's surprisingly conventional Supreme Court pick

Kavanaugh carries the least amount of risk for Trump, and perhaps the greatest reward

Brett Kavanaugh at the White House
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In a day filled with suspense, intrigue, and sharp debate over the direction of the judiciary, the nation's most unconventional president showed a decidedly conventional approach to the Supreme Court. Almost two weeks after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement and changed the midterm election cycle, President Trump picked one of Kennedy's former clerks to replace him. Brett Kavanaugh, who has served for 12 years on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, got the prime-time reveal at the White House.

Kavanaugh has been at the top of the conservative wish list for years. So the big surprise from Trump in this case is that there wasn't much surprise in the choice at all. To some extent, that's by design. Trump had to convince movement conservatives to turn out for him in 2016, but some argued that the famously mercurial Republican frontrunner couldn't be trusted to take the issue seriously nor to stick to his pledge to nominate conservatives to the federal bench. His campaign worked with conservative groups, notably the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, to develop a list of more than two dozen potential Supreme Court candidates. The list was impressive enough to win over many conservatives, especially given the alternative of having Hillary Clinton make these same appointments.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.