*By Amanda Weston* Justice Brett Kavanugh's Saturday confirmation may have awakened some Americans to a different version of the Supreme Court. "I think if there's any silver lining to this, \[it's that]\ we should stop thinking that it was ever non-political," John Iadarola, co-host of The Young Turks, told Cheddar Monday. "This idea that there are activist judges and there are other judges that, despite the fact that they work in politics, that they pay attention to politics every day, they did their entire lives, they're not actually swayed by any political ideology or anything like that. That's absurd. These are political figures." Nick Givas, reporter at The Daily Caller, agreed. He told Cheddar that many have tried to convince others the Supreme Court is "this unbiased holy entity that is above reproach." But that's not really the case, he said. "I mean, it's appointed by presidents," Givas said. "We count them by conservatives versus liberals. Every time we break down the numbers and the balance of 'the Court' it's a political balance, and they decide cases that are going to affect the law ー the law of the land, people's everyday lives. It's hard not to be political. We're asking them to be more than just men and women. We're asking them to be completely incorruptible, and they're human." Politics and controversy were major players in Kavanaugh's confirmation. The Senate approved him for the job Saturday by a slim 50-48 vote ー the slimmest confirmation margin since 1881 ー as some onlookers in the gallery repeatedly [shouted, "shame!"](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court.html) The vote came a little over a week after dramatic testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee from both Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were in high school, and the judge who vehemently denied the allegations. Democrats slammed the [ensuing FBI investigation](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/grassley-says-new-fbi-report-kavanaugh-includes-no-new-info-n916601) as incomplete, whereas many Republicans praised it. Even President Donald Trump weighed in. "This is now the 7th time the FBI has investigated Judge Kavanaugh. If we made it 100, it would still not be good enough for the Obstructionist Democrats," [he tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1047853098365079553). Iadarola alluded to the "popular mythology" that Justices are driven only by Constitutional concerns, not party. "That might be true to some extent, but they are political people," he said. "And Brett Kavanaugh just makes that even more obvious, especially with his rant during his testimony about some sort of bizarre Clinton revenge plot." Givas said another possible effect of Kavanaugh's confirmation has yet to be seen. "Obviously the Democrats are getting a boost because they lost this fight, so they're going to come out and definitely vote," Givas said. "But I think Republicans, I think they're upset about this process, whether he was going to be confirmed or not. This has awoken a party that was asleep." Givas said those who weren't planning to vote may now cast ballots for the GOP, potentially contributing to an unforeseen "red wave." "I think they're going to defy conventional wisdom and the current polling," Givas said. "I think they are going to hold the House, and they're going to hold the Senate." Kavanaugh officially begins his duties as Justice on Tuesday. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/kavanaugh-confirmation-makes-waves-through-washington).

Share:
More In Politics
Biden's Approval Among Young Voters Dips
Just 27% of voters aged 18-29 approve of the job Biden is doing as president, according to a survey from The Economist and YouGov late last year. Santiago Mayer, executive director of Voters of Tomorrow, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss why President Biden is losing support among young voters.
One Year Into Donald Trump's Social Media Exile
Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Cheddar News to discuss it being one year since Trump was exiled from social media and the former President's new platform 'Truth Social.'
Voting Rights Groups Push For Action Over Words
Cliff Albright, co-founder of the group Black Voters Matter, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss why he boycotted President Biden's voting rights speech this week, and the push from Senate Democrats to debate and vote on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Competing Bills From Both Sides of the Aisle Look to Limit Lawmaker Stock Trading
Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) has teamed up with fellow Democratic senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly to introduce the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, a bill to essentially end stock trading by sitting lawmakers. From the other side of the aisle, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced his own legislation to enact something similar. The dueling bills come at a time when it's popular to constrain members of Congress from owning and trading stocks. Karl Evers-Hillstrom, a business and lobbying reporter at The Hill, spoke to Cheddar about the significance of the bills, and what they could mean for lawmakers, their families, and staffers moving forward.
Second U.S. Starbucks Store Votes to Unionize
A second Starbucks location in the U.S. has officially voted to unionize. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board announced workers at the Starbucks store located in the Buffalo, NY suburb of Cheektowaga voted 15-9 in favor of being represented by Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The New York Times reports votes were tallied in December but remained inconclusive as the union challenged the ballots of several employees it said did not work at the store. A Starbucks spokesperson has said that it may appeal the labor board's decision, which comes as several other Starbucks stores across the country are also pushing to form a union. Danka Dragic, shift supervisor for the second Starbucks store in the country to unionize, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Rep. Tom Emmer Proposes Bill To Prevent Federal Reserve Control of U.S. Digital Currency
Earlier today, Minnesota Republican Representative, Tom Emmer, introduced a bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to American consumers. According to the Congressman from Minnesota, requiring Americans to open a fed account to access a digital currency, would "put the Fed on insidious path akin to China's digital authoritarianism." Rep. Tom Emmer joined Cheddar's None of The Above to discuss more.
16 Elite Universities Sued Over Collusion To Limit Financial Aid
Sixteen of the country's most prestigious universities have been hit with a lawsuit claiming those schools illegally conspired to eliminate competitive financial aid offers for students. Just some of the schools mentioned include Yale, Brown, Columbia, UPenn, and Cornell. Author of "Who Gets In and Why" and Professor of practice at Arizona State University, Jeff Selingo, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Load More