Trump Formally Swears In Brett Kavanaugh

Donald Trump's new Supreme Court Justice has been publicly sworn-in at a ceremony at the White House.

It comes after a fraught nomination process, in which Brett Kavanaugh faced sexual misconduct allegations - including public testimony from accuser Christine Blasey Ford - against him dating back to when he was a teenager.

The new Supreme Court justice has repeatedly denied the claims.

pic.twitter.com/4ySIkmfllE

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2018

Following a week-long delay by US senators to allow for an FBI investigation into the allegations, Mr Kavanaugh officially became a lifetime member of the country's highest court on Saturday.

Speaking before yesterday's formal ceremony, President Trump apologised to the judge and his family for a difficult nomination process.

The US President said: "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."

Earlier, Trump claimed the judge was "caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats".

Mr Kavanaugh's confirmation will shift the court's balance to the right.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has argued it puts "women’s reproductive rights, civil rights, environmental protections, worker’s rights, the ability to implement gun safety rules and the ability to hold presidents accountable at risk for a generation".

President Trump yesterday also weighed in on a significant political intervention - Taylor Swift's announcement that she's backing a Democrat in next month's US-midterm elections.

 

 

 

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

In a post on Instagram, Taylor criticised the voting history of the Republican candidate for Tennessee Marsha Blackburn.

Yesterday, the Republican president responded: "Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25 percent less now. Okay?"