One of the most important duties delegated by the Constitution to the President of the United States is the nomination of Supreme Court Justices. These people, when confirmed by the Senate, receive lifetime appointments to the nation’s highest court (leaving only when they pass away or choose to retire), where they will decide the most important cases to come before the government’s judicial branch. The decisions they make can have enormous impact and consequences, lasting far beyond the term of the particular president who names them to their new position. In short, this is an opportunity for a president, who will himself only be in office for a maximum of 8 years, to influence national policy for decades to come. When the time arrives to nominate a Supreme Court Justice, the person occupying the White House is extremely important.

That is why we are so fortunate to have Donald Trump as President right now. President Trump has already appointed Neil Gorsuch to the high court, who in his short time as a justice thus far has proven to be a reliably conservative voice. But as good as Gorsuch is, he was filling the seat of Antonin Scalia, a solid conservative justice, when Scalia sadly died. Gorsuch made sure conservatism did not lose any ground in the Supreme Court, but he did not expand conservative influence either.

Now, with Justice Anthony Kennedy stepping down and the President having named Brett Kavanaugh to replace him, we have a greater opportunity. To be sure, Justice Kennedy was generally conservative in many ways, but many of his rulings – including on some important abortion related cases – were somewhat disappointing. If his place were to be taken by Brett Kavanaugh, we could cement a solid conservative majority on the high court for a very long time – beyond even Donald Trump’s presidency.

Judge Kavanaugh has proven through his career that he is a reliable conservative best choice for the Supreme Court. He served under Kenneth Star in the 90s during the Whitewater investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton, two of the most corrupt politicians in this nation’s history. Additionally, his judicial record during his 12 years on the appellate court is exemplary. Brett Kavanaugh is exactly who we need to take Anthony Kennedy’s seat, and President Trump was wise to choose him.

Nevertheless, the president was also courageous to choose Kavanaugh – for better or worse. The pick is so conservative, he is sure to draw heated opposition from the Democrats, as he already has. The option existed to deliberately choose a moderate judge, but President Trump decided to play it bold. Now, it will be more difficult to get the nomination confirmed by the Senate – but the payoff will be huge, if it can be done.

We can probably count on all 49 Democratic Senators to oppose Kavanaugh. They’re pretty good about holding ranks during times like these. The problem, then, is that Republicans can’t afford any defections if they hope to get the judge through. That could be a serious obstacle, being GOP Senators John McCain and Susan Collins are far from reliable allies of the President. Besides which, the former has been battling cancer of late, and his ability to attend the Senate is always in question.

Still, we must get Brett Kavanaugh confirmed; it would have tremendous implications for a number of important issues moving forward, especially abortion. I would argue that nothing is essential to the future of our country – and, if I may say, our nation’s soul – than protecting unborn children from being murdered, particularly by the solid liberal left who has supported partial birth abortion done by Planned Parenthood. What we have here is a golden opportunity to protect them.

Furthermore, many conservative groups including the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have advocated for the restriction of the Environmental Protection Agency. This upcoming fall the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an obscure case, Gundy v. United States, with implications for the federal bureaucracy, including agencies that set rules for pollution, wildlife protection and food safety.

“This is a really important sleeper case,” said Sean Hecht, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles. The Cato Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute and Pacific Legal Foundation have all filed briefs hoping it will help advance their goal of “shrinking the administrative state.” Judge Kavanaugh, if confirmed to the court before its next term starts, could cast a decisive vote.

By appointing Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, let us hope it does not get wasted.