WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he's happy with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's performance at the judge's ongoing Senate confirmation hearings.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, the president said he watched Kavanaugh's hearing "for a little while," adding that he saw "some incredible answers to very complex questions."
Trump called Kavanaugh, 53, "an outstanding judge" who was "born for the position."
In July, Trump nominated Kavanaugh, a conservative federal appeals court judge, to the Supreme Court to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement in June.
Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings began Tuesday and continued Wednesday but met with outbursts and disruptions, which have led to arrests of at least 70 protesters.
Liberal advocacy groups and others were concerned that Trump's pick could move the already conservative-leaning court more solidly to the right and revisit landmark rulings on abortion access, same-sex marriage and other hot-button issues.
"My goal is for this nomination to not go through," said Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, who was one of the people arrested Tuesday. "The stakes have never been higher."
Under questioning from senators on Wednesday, Kavanaugh signaled respect for the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion nationwide and condemned the spate of U.S. school shootings.
He declined to answer hypothetical questions about the powers of the president, but said "no one is above the law in our constitutional system."
Kavanaugh was the second time in two years that Trump has made a Supreme Court pick.
The president nominated Neil Gorsuch, seen as solidly conservative, to the court shortly after he took office early 2017. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate with a 54-45 vote months later.
The confirmation for Kavanaugh's nomination was expected to be contentious, with the Senate now narrowly divided, 51-49, in favor of Republicans.
