Locals react to President Donald Trump's SCOTUS nominee
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- President Donald Trump has named a Supreme Court nominee just less than two weeks after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he would retire.
"I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court," President Trump announced during a Monday night special report.
A conservative U.S. Court of Appeals judge since 2006, Kavanaugh is President Trump's second pick for the Supreme Court.
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"My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law not make the law," Kavanaugh said.
President Trump's choice, if confirmed, is a lasting mark of this presidency and Houstonians are weighing in their opinions.
"A sizeable portion said this was the number one reason. They didn't like him as a person. They didn't like a lot of his policies. They didn't like his tweeting. But this to them was extremely important," said Jim Granato, executive director of UH Hobby School of Public Affairs.
"The court is not as clearly red team and the blue team as it's made out to be," expressed Peter Linzer, professor of law at UH Law Center.
Linzer says this nominee may tip the scale slightly to the right on social issues but potentially not as much as some might hope or fear.
"There are reports that, Chief Justice Roberts does not want his court to be viewed as a partisan court. Whether he can keep it from that I don't know," Linzer said.
