Jul 10, 2018

Why Brett Kavanaugh is confirmable

Brett Kavanaugh with his two daughters, and President Trump. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

When President Trump unveiled his pick in the East Room last night, Judge Kavanaugh's remarks showed both his appeal to the president, and why his confirmation will be difficult to derail.

One big quote: "I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women."

  • "I am part of the vibrant Catholic community in the D.C. area. The members of that community disagree about many things, but we are united by a commitment to serve. Father John Enzler is here. Forty years ago, I was an altar boy for Father John. These days, I help him serve meals to the homeless at Catholic charities."
  • "I have two spirited daughters, Margaret and Liza. Margaret loves sports, and she loves to read. Liza loves sports, and she loves to talk. I have tried to create bonds with my daughters like my dad created with me."
  • "For the past seven years, I have coached my daughters’ basketball teams. The girls on the team call me Coach K. I am proud of our Blessed Sacrament team that just won the city championship."
  • "My wife Ashley is ... the town manager of our community. We met in 2001, when we both worked in the White House. Our first date was on September 10, 2001."

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Axios
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Louisville officer: "Breonna Taylor would be alive" if we had served no-knock warrant

Breonna Taylor memorial in Louisville. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, the Louisville officer who led the botched police raid that caused the death of Breonna Taylor, said the No. 1 thing he wishes he had done differently is either served a "no-knock" warrant or given five to 10 seconds before entering the apartment: "Breonna Taylor would be alive, 100 percent."

Driving the news: Mattingly, who spoke to ABC News and Louisville's Courier Journal for his public interview, was shot in the leg in the initial moments of the March 13 raid. Mattingly did not face any charges after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he and another officer were "justified" in returning fire to protect themselves against Taylor's boyfriend.

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

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The big picture: Once a generation, it seems, federal regulators decide to take on a dominant tech company. Two decades ago, Microsoft was the target; two decades before that, IBM.

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2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Why the stimulus delay isn't a crisis (yet)

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

If the impasse between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House on a new stimulus deal is supposed to be a crisis, you wouldn't know it from the stock market, where prices continue to rise.

  • That's been in no small part because U.S. economic data has held up remarkably well in recent months thanks to the $2 trillion CARES Act and Americans' unusual ability to save during the crisis.
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