Donald Trump has said “women were outraged” at the way his Supreme Court pick was treated during the confirmation process, after senators voted to approve Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment.
Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on his way to a political rally in Kansas, Mr Trump also said he was “100 per cent certain” that Christine Blasey Ford named the wrong person as her alleged assailant.
It was a counterpoint to what Dr Ford said during her testimony last month – that she was “100 per cent” certain Mr Kavanaugh was the person in question.
In the minutes following the vote, which the president watched from his private cabin on the aircraft, he flashed two thumbs up and tweeted: “I applaud and congratulate the US Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE.”
He then accused Democrats of levying a “horrible, horrible attack that nobody should have to go through” on Mr Kavanaugh during the confirmation process.
Mr Trump said Mr Kavanaugh would be a “totally brilliant Supreme Court justice for many years”. He also praised the justice’s “temperament, his incredible past, his outstanding years on the court”.
After he landed in Topeka, the president said he spoke with Mr Kavanaugh and congratulated him on a “well fought” confirmation.
He thanked the FBI for their work as well, saying the bureau “worked hard ... really fast” and said he heard the investigation report was “detailed, thorough”.
He called the vote “a testament to our country” and said the week-long delay in the vote was “terrific” for the confirmation process.
Many felt the new justice’s testimony in September was incredibly emotional. Mr Kavanaugh appeared to hold back tears several times as he discussed what his wife and young child have had to go through since the allegations were made public.
It was a line toed by several Senate Republicans who used the word “disgrace” several times to characterise the confirmation hearing in the days after Dr Ford came forward with her allegations.
Republican Susan Collins had called the confirmation process a “dysfunctional circus” and said “when passions are inflamed, fairness is most in jeopardy” in a 45-minute speech defending her “yes” vote on Mr Kavanaugh.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said after the vote that putting Mr Kavanaugh on the court “was about treating someone fairly”.
Angry shouts of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” rang out during the vote in the Senate gallery while vice president Mike Pence was presiding.
Several hundred women could be seen outside of the Supreme Court after the vote, the crowd growing by the minute, openly weeping or chanting in frustration and anger as Mr Kavanaugh was being sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Hundreds of people flooded the steps of the court building as police tried to move them away. Mr Kavanaugh is reportedly going to hire all female law clerks for his office, the news of which only added to the tension.
