Pres Trump & First Lady Melania Make A Rare Appearance At The Supreme Court

Posted By: Lindsey Michelle November 8, 2018

President Trump and First Lady Melania visited the Supreme Court Thursday for the ceremonial investiture of the new Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The President and First Lady also met privately with the justices prior to Thursday’s brief courtroom ceremony.

The Daily Caller reports, Thursday’s proceedings featured a roster of Republican legal luminaries, including former Attorneys General John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey; Ken Starr, the federal judge turned independent counsel and scourge of the Clinton administration; Maureen Scalia, wife of the late Justice Antonin Scalia; former White House counsels Don McGahn and Harriet Miers; Federalist Society President Eugene Meyer and Leonard Leo, a Federalist Society vice president who informally advises GOP administrations on judicial confirmations.

The ceremony also placed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judge Merrick Garland. Many of Kavanaugh’s former colleagues on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit were seated with Garland.

Further, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took part in the ceremony.

Kavanaugh, who was confirmed on Oct. 8, has been participating in the work of the court for almost a month. By tradition, a ceremonial courtroom installation with various dignitaries follows the confirmation of a new justice. (Continued Below)

Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath Kavanaugh took when he was officially sworn in October.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker moved to have Kavanaugh’s official commission read aloud. Whitaker assumed the top post at the Department of Justice after Trump dismissed former Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Solicitor General Noel Francisco joined Whitaker for Thursday’s investiture.

Scott Harris, the clerk of the court, read Kavanaugh’s commission aloud on Wednesday. Kavanaugh then ascended the bench where Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. Thereafter, Kavanaugh assumed his seat at the far right edge of the bench, stopping to greet Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan, who smiled broadly. Roberts wished Kavanaugh a “long and happy career in our common calling,” via Daily Caller. (Continued Below)

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hospitalized with fractured ribs, was absent.

The White House tweeted a photo of President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh writing, “President Trump and the First Lady joined the 114th Justice Brett Kavanaugh for his traditional investiture ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court this morning.”

First Lady Melania Trump tweeted photos from the ceremony writing, “Congratulations Justice Kavanaugh. I know you will continue to serve our country with honor.”

Read more about the ceremony at SCOTUS blog.