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After Justice Anthony Kennedy declared to President Donald Trump that he would waive his seat on the Supreme Court, the President went out of his private meeting with the retiring lawyer and focused on a candidate to be named: Judge Brett Kavanaugh. According to confidants and aides close to the White House, Trump is increasingly convinced that "the judges", as he says, or the reorganization of the federal judiciary by his administration in his conservative image, are at the heart of his legacy. as president. And he attributes to Kennedy, who spent more than a decade at the center of power on the ground, giving him the opportunity.
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Even as Trump sent his best lawyers to deal with Kavanaugh's decisions. questioned the allies to find out if he was too close to the Bush family, potentially a fatal flaw, the president was still inclined to accept Kennedy's bias for Kavanaugh while keeping the secret up to his official announcement, informed sources of his thought to POLITICO
. Trump, who has spent more time with Kavanaugh than the other finalists, was impressed by the judge's credentials, his long judicial experience and his loyalty to the constitution, according to officials. What was listed as a deal-breaker for some on the right – his long trace of paper – was actually the thing that drew Trump to Kavanaugh
Administration officials said that Trump had been caught up with Kavanaugh even before his conversation with Kennedy. But Kennedy, letting Trump believe that Kavanaugh would be a good candidate, helped the president decide.
Trump nonetheless helped fuel the anticipation by interviewing a trio of competitors, judges Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett, a favorite among anti-abortion groups, and Thomas Hardiman, Trump's dolphin of choice for high court, Neil Gorsuch, another Kennedy employee
Trump got away with Hardiman, said the assistants, and he considers Barrett as a serious candidate should he get a third appointment at the Supreme Court. Kethledge's offer was scuttled by decisions deemed too accommodating by conservatives to illegal immigrants. On Friday, Trump was almost contented with Kavanaugh, a man with an Ivy League diploma and a conservative pedigree, according to two Republicans close to the White House. But he did not make his final decision until Sunday.
On Monday night, Trump made the official decision by selecting Kavanaugh for the High Court. Standing next to Kavanaugh, his wife and two daughters, Trump made his remarks from the East House of the White House, after thanking Kennedy for "a lifetime of distinguished service."
"Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a" Trump said in his introduction to the Yale Law School graduate, which he took care to note teaches at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown.
"In all legal circles, he is considered a judge judge: A true leader of opinion among his peers, he is a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the best jurists of our time. "Trump added. "And just like Judge Gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for Judge Kennedy."
Kavanaugh, in his own speech, was effusive in his eulogy of Kennedy, telling how the jurist devoted his career to ensuring freedom. "I am deeply honored to be appointed to serve on the Supreme Court," he told the Republican family, friends and senators
The White House declined to comment on the selection process Trump and a spokesman for the Supreme Court. He did not respond to a request for comment on Trump's meeting with Kennedy.
Those who supported Kavanaugh considered him the safest choice, given his 12 years of experience on the bench and his personal chemistry with the president. as more conservative than his mentor and the most confirmable of the group, especially with Republican senators. "I think he knows his record was more conservative than Kennedy's," said a Trump ally of the president's ruling.
Trump remained shy throughout the search, offering little guidance to choose from a pre-approved list were blessed by conservative organizations and White House advisor Don McGahn, who also favored Kavanaugh . Trump interviewed Kavanaugh at the White House at least twice, with McGahn sitting on the interviews.
Although many in Washington were not surprised by the choice, the president worked hard to keep the secret, offering some clues to his inclinations in his many conversations with aides and close associates. He wanted to accentuate the suspense of his grand revelation on the East House, which he modeled on his January 2017 announcement of Gorsuch's appointment. Many in the White House still marvel that the news of Gorsuch was largely kept secret until Trump made it public.
In the west wing, Supreme Court choice was celebrated not only for its rare lack of leaks. The White House can stick to a carefully orchestrated process, avoid fighting and, at least for now, bring together large parts of the Republican Party.
But Trump nonetheless offered little clues to his inclinations. Last week, while questioning his friends about his possible choices, a Republican source said Trump had fought back at Kavanaugh's quick defense when his name appeared.
The White House was so pleased with Gorsuch's selection process that she decided to follow even playbook, only this time he narrowed the field initially to the four finalists. Only a small number of senior White House officials such as McGahn and other outside figures, such as Leonard Leo, of the Federalist Society, currently on leave from the Conservative group, were involved in the judicial selection process [19659004]. to the jacket. This shows that when it comes to making important decisions, if the right people are involved, the story does not escape, "said a Republican close to the House. White
The President has not informed Kavanaugh of his decision before Sunday night, according to two government officials, when he also briefed McGahn and Vice President Mike Pence , leaving little time for the news to spread around Washington.
the other potential candidates little information about where the president stood, asking all major contenders to provide lists potential guests for Monday's announcement, according to a person familiar with the planning.We did not hurt either Hardiman who was in Washington Monday for a pre-scheduled conference.
Even lawmakers only have been informed of the decision just before the televised announcement. Standing next to Pence and Melania Trump, the president informed senators at a reception in the state dining hall before his 21 hours. remarks. Kavanaugh joined legislators and other officials present for the ceremony for another reception after the event, according to two government officials.
But the White House failed to completely hide the arrival of Kavanaugh at the White House. Two sources told POLITICO that they saw Kavanaugh entering the building at 5:30 pm. – through the residence on the South Lawn, far from the watchful eyes of the journalists.
People close to the White House were reluctant to make predictions about who would choose Trump, despite the indications that he was leaning towards Kavanaugh. Trump, they noted, is nothing if not unpredictable, and the White House has been known to take action to toss Trump's reporters and supporters of the scent.
Two people close to the White House said that McGahn's team had drawn false rumors last year that Hardiman and Gorsuch were going to be brought to Washington for a revelation of the first choice of Trump at the Supreme Court. The rumors, which were reinforced when Hardiman was spotted at a gas station by a reporter, further increased the suspense of Trump's announcement.
A handful of White House office lawyers, as well as assistants from communications bureaus and staff huddled on the fourth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office for days to review the writings and the opinions of the main candidates. They continued to sharpen the information and control documents over the weekend, knowing that Trump would likely wait until Monday's deadline to make his decision public. On Sunday, the White House signed briefing packages, which included key decisions and biographical material, for the first four candidates.
They have always been very aware that the mercurial president would hesitate between his judges. and his allies, although his questions seemed to indicate that he had targeted only two of the possibilities: Kavanaugh and Hardiman
Monday morning, after Trump would have arrived at his final decision, many in the White House said that They were largely resigned to a "wait and see mode," as one administration official said. The background research and research was mostly complete, and they were just waiting on Trump to announce his decision to the rest of the world.
On Monday afternoon, Trump called Hardiman to let him know, for the second time, that he would not receive the nod for the choice of the Supreme Court, according to a senior official. administration. The White House also alerted Barrett and Kethledge.
The White House, further increasing anticipation, announced in the afternoon that Jon Kyl, the former Republican senator from Arizona, will be the nominee's shepherd through the confirmation process. Kyl, who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, works as a senior counsel at Covington's lead law firm. Some reading tea leaves noted that Kyl helped Kavanaugh get on the federal bench after fighting the democratic delay tactics.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recommended the White House to select Kyl, the former GOP whip, as the candidate's sherpa, according to a Republican official. Kyl is popular among Republican Senators and could be a crucial middleman for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) On the Judiciary Committee. Flake has often criticized Trump and blocked some judicial candidates in committee in order to draw attention to his opposition to Cuba and its pricing policies.
The White House is preparing to put pressure on the Red Democrats to support Kavanaugh's nomination. Pence will be participating in a series of interviews Tuesday to promote Kavanaugh to local television and radio stations in the original states of Sens. Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) And Heidi Heitkamp (ND), according to Despite the well-prepared promotional plan, many White House associates, starting at 7 pm, said that they did not know the name of Trump's choice, in the midst of reports that Kethledge was at home in Michigan and Barrett was spotted by reporters at his home in South Bend, Indiana. The outside conservative groups, who knew that Trump would pick Gorsuch the day before this announcement, were still on that selection.
The White House was planning to inform conservative groups, substitutes and Hill's staff during two separate calls with McGahn later on Monday. at night, but early in the evening, many remained in the dark as to the final selection of Trump. Still, thrilled with the opportunity to swing the court, these groups stood there with commercials ready to be deployed, while the Democratic opponents were planning their own televised blitz
. The reporters felt more and more confident that he would get the green light, despite what some involved in the process presented as a beat of negative attacks against the first favorite.
Some conservative critics, including those who are pushing for other possible candidates for a photo that ran last month in the Washington Post. He showed that Kavanaugh was sworn in by Kennedy at the prestigious US Court of Appeals for Circuit D.C., with smiling President George W. Bush standing to his right. Below, Bush's strategist Karl Rove is shown in another photo with his arm around a younger Kavanaugh.
The goal was to paint him as too close to Bush, knowing that Trump's dislike for the family could prevent him from running for office. Kavanaugh was also scrutinized for knowing he was sufficiently conservative, with skeptics questioning his reliability on hot issues like abortion and Obamacare.
But that was his long written record of the White House Bush and his time as a Whitewater attorney. The independent lawyer Ken Starr, whom some Kavanaugh supporters even privately acknowledged helped to block his candidacy , forcing White House lawyers to go through hundreds of pages as the concerns of some Senate Republicans, including McConnell, were made public. Official, describing the jockeys that unfold, said sometimes that it seemed that there were only two camps, instead of four: People shooting for Kavanaugh, and the 'anti-Kavanaugh' "
As for the recent concerns about the Starr probe, a person close to the process, said that the White House and the outside lawyers had concluded that they could quickly review the documents. Trump scored a rapid increase for Kavanaugh, who was not on Trump's initial list of potential Supreme Court justices.In the 2016 campaign, McGahn intended to nominate judges who were living and were working outside the DC bubble, said two former administration officials.Others have mentioned the problem of Obamacare.
Kavanaugh was not on the list of the potential judges of the Supreme Court. and four others, including Barrett, were added at the end of last year. Kavanaugh was removed from the first list because he was a judge at the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit, and the president and his assistants wanted the candidates on the list to heavily represent the states. that Trump brought to the 2016 elections, according to two people familiar with the subject.
But it was added at the request of its many supporters in the conservative legal community.
Kavanaugh is "not a clear underdog," said a former senior Republican official of the administration. "I do not think he would have stayed off the list with his support of the Federalist Society and Heritage and especially McGahn."
Observers have said that Trump, not one to back down when someone he wants to hire or keep in his Cabinet is under fire, let the last verification process play while focusing on what he sees as the biggest picture. He told people that the possibility of having two Supreme Court candidates during his first 18 months in office is historic, which gives him the opportunity to reshape the direction of the courts and to fill a important election promise.
The White House predicts that Trump, if he is re-elected in 2020, could have at least one more seat on the Supreme Court if Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires considering his advanced age. These assistants said Trump saw Barrett as an obvious choice for a third seat, although this time he was quick to eliminate him as a result of their interview.
Kennedy's headquarters seemed destined to go to Kavanaugh, Justin knows Donald Trump Jr. through New York real estate circles and his other adult child has links to Trump World via Peter Thiel, the advisor Silicon Valley President in 2016. Kennedy Disruptive Technology Advisers has worked with Thiel's Palantir Technologies. The two Kennedy sons were invited to the White House, and Trump had good things to say about Justin in the comments to Kennedy took a hot mic last year.
For a White House that had taken the pulse of the deep court court of Kennedy Law Clerks, his retirement had long been on their wish list. And a year after Trump chose Gorsuch to serve with his mentor, he chose another former Kennedy aide to join him in the high court, a move that will shape how the president and retired justice are remembered.
Transactional trump in so many ways – as long as it's immediate enough to benefit him, "said a Republican close to the White House." The fact that Kennedy gave him this, he was flattered and delighted. "
Darren Samuelsohn, Lorraine Woellert and Burgess Everett contributed to this story
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