*By Conor White*
The race to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy's seat on the Supreme Court is just beginning, but a front runner has already emerged, according to Heather Timmons, Quartz's White House correspondent.
"The name you're hearing the most in Washington has been Brett Kavanaugh," she explained. "He's a U.S. District Court of Appeals judge in DC, he clerked for Kennedy. Trump made a point of saying he's consulted with Kennedy about who his replacement should be, and it's expected that Kennedy is going to recommend Kavanaugh."
Despite reportedly being a late add to the president's list of potential nominees, 53-year-old Kavanaugh checks a lot of boxes for conservatives: he represented George W. Bush in the 2000 Florida recount, was a lawyer for Ken Starr during the investigation into Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, and most recently he dissented when his court upheld an opinion requiring the government to facilitate an abortion for an undocumented teen in U.S. custody.
In an interview Thursday on Cheddar, Timmons dove even deeper into why Kavanaugh could be Trump's pick.
"He has a history of pro-business rulings, he decided a case that said the Consumer Finance Protection Board was unconstitutional, which allowed Trump to replace the head of that with Mick Mulvaney."
And while many expect President Trump to attempt to ram through a nominee with a very conservative history in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade, Timmons said that might not be the best move when it comes to the midterm elections.
"Right now support across America for legal abortion in most cases is at 57%, it's as strong as it's been in 20 years. Although Trump has indicated he wants to pull this court to the right, America and American voters are not going towards the right. So to put somebody in one of these seats that is considered a very far-right person could ultimately hurt the Republicans in the midterms."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/may-i-have-this-seat-predicting-next-supreme-court-justice)
President Joe Biden made his first public comments about his son Hunter Biden's plea deal with federal prosecutors on two misdemeanor tax charges. This follows several critical comments by Republicans, who blasted the agreement as a "sweetheart deal."
A federal judge struck down Arkansas' first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.
Climate change is on trial in Montana. In a landmark case, 16 young people are suing the state over effects like smoke, heat, and drought. It's just the first in a series of cases intended to pressure lawmakers into taking action on the environment. Here with more is Cheddar News Senior Reporter Chloe Aiello.
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A White House official said First lady Jill Biden is hosting a roundtable conversation on Tuesday that will bring together women who have been denied medical care since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
Former president Donald Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier said on Monday that he did not show classified documents to anyone else after his term.
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