How Supreme Court Justices Align With Their Appointer

President Trump announced his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the bench Monday night. Supreme Court appointments are lifelong, meaning presidents can influence court rulings for decades. Republican presidents have placed Supreme Court Justices on the bench at a much higher rate than Democratic presidents in recent years. In fact, placing justices on the bench acted as a major rallying point for the Republican base in the 2016 election.

Trump has already gotten one of his appointments onto the court through the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. If confirmed by the Senate, the addition of Kavanaugh will push the court into a more conservative direction. Most justices already take a conservative stance when it comes to these rulings, as this data from FiveThirtyEight illustrates.