WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh took his seat on the bench today to hear oral arguments, filling Justice Anthony Kennedy’s vacancy on the Supreme Court.

President Trump held a swearing-in ceremony last night for Justice Kavanaugh in the East Room of the White House. The president entered the event to loud applause, flanked by Kavanaugh and former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who hired Kavanaugh as a law clerk from 1993 to 1994. All sitting Supreme Court Justices were in attendance, as well as Kavanaugh's parents, wife and two daughters. Liberty Counsel team member Peggy Nienaber, who has faithfully led prayer on Capitol Hill throughout the confirmation process, also attended the ceremony. 

President Trump began his speech with an apology to Kavanaugh and his family for the way he was treated by Senate Democrats during the confirmation process. President Trump said, “On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation, not a campaign of political and personal destruction based on lies and deception. What happened to the Kavanaugh family violates every notion of fairness, decency, and due process. In our country, a man or a woman must always be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”

Trump added, “You, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.” 

Justice Kavanaugh gave an impressive speech, saying the grueling confirmation process did not change him or how he will approach cases as a justice on the High Court. He will continue to apply the law, not make it.

Justice Kavanaugh also arrived today for his first day on the bench with an unprecedented all-female class of law clerks, a first in the history of the Supreme Court.

“This is a historic day for the nation as Justice Brett Kavanaugh finally took his seat on the High Court,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “It’s been a long and ugly process since President Trump nominated him on July 9, but now true justice prevailed. I look forward to many years of Justice Kavanaugh applying the rule of law like a neutral umpire,” Staver said.

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