President Donald Trump explained why he chose to nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his East Room speech Monday evening.

“Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. A graduate of Yale college and Yale law school, judge Cavanaugh currently teaches at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown. Throughout legal circles he is considered a judge’s judge, a true thought leader among his peers,” Trump said. (RELATED: Supreme Court Poised For Rightward Shift Under Kavanaugh)

Trump continued to laud Kavanuagh’s long judicial career saying “Judge Kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. For the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit court of appeals with great distinction offering opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight and rigorous adherence to the law. Of those opinions, there are more than a dozen that the Supreme Court has adopted as the law of the land.”