Sen. Jeff Merkley Jeffrey (Jeff) Alan MerkleyThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump, Biden renew push for Latino support Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie' MORE (D-Ore.) on Monday laid into President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE for nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, saying he did so to protect himself in the ongoing Russia probe.

Merkley suggested Trump picked Kavanaugh because of the judge's past writings that argue a president should be shielded from ongoing investigations.

Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility Democratic lawmakers call for an investigation into allegations of medical neglect at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-N.J.) also criticized the selection for the same reason.

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On PBS NewsHour, the 2020 hopeful told host Judy Woodruff that Trump "literally selected the one person who has a pretty good written record of saying, 'Hey, if you're a president under investigation, I don't think you should be allowed to be under criminal investigation."

Trump tapped Kavanaugh, 53, to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring at the end of the month.

Prior to serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh worked as a White House aide under former President George W. Bush and for Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel who investigated former President Clinton in the 1990s.

In his legal writings, Kavanaugh has argued the president should be shielded from the demands of criminal and civil investigations because they interfere with his official duties.

Even before Trump's nomination of Kavanaugh, Democrats had expressed concerns over the nominee's role in any decisions involving special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. Some lawmakers suggested Trump's nominee would have a conflict of interest in any court cases related to the investigation.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), argued Sunday that the Supreme Court may ultimately have to weigh in if Trump refuses to comply with a subpoena in the Mueller investigation, as his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has suggested.

Leonard Leo, who took a leave from the conservative Federalist Society to aide Trump with the Supreme Court pick, dismissed Democratic calls to delay the confirmation process until after Mueller concludes his investigation as a "red herring."