Brett Kavanaugh, former United States Circuit Judge, was recently confirmed as the new Supreme Court judge on October 6, 2018. After a long and grueling process, President Trump’s nominee was appointed to take over the vacant spot former judge, Anthony Kennedy, left behind.

Masses of people gathered at the Capitol steps, awaiting the Senate’s decision on Kavanaugh. Many of them were protesting, and 164 of them were arrested by Capitol police both before and during the vote. They were charged with Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding (Time).

Because former Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy was the swing vote between the Democrats and Republicans, many people are concerned that Judge Kavanaugh’s more conservative rulings will upset the balance of the Supreme Court. Most specifically, Americans are worried about Roe v. Wade, a past Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, will be overturned with a 5-4 vote. However during his confirmation hearing, Judge Kavanaugh has said that he “[understands] the importance of the precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade,” giving people hope that he will not vote in favor of overturning it.

Amid his confirmation, a woman by the name of Christine Blasey Ford has come forward and accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school. She was heard before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27, 2018, where she answered questions regarding the incident. “The details about that night that bring me here today are ones that I will never forget,” Ford said. “They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult.”

A few days later, President Trump mocked Ford at a rally in Southaven, Mississippi: “How did you get home? I don’t remember. How did you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember.” However, Ford did provide answers to all the questions Trump accused her of not remembering.

After Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake voted to move Kavanaugh further up in the confirmation process, he requested for an FBI investigation to take place, as well as a one week delay of the voting for the investigation to take place (CNN). However, the FBI did not come to any conclusive results. They received a lot of backlash for not conducting interviews on the key people involved in the incident Kavanaugh was accused of, including Ford, and Kavanaugh himself.

Ashley Bui-Tran (11) believes victims. She doesn’t think what Trump said about Ford was appropriate at all, and that “men are not the victims of the #MeToo movement, women are.”

Ultimately, Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed with a 50-48 majority vote in the Senate, and has begun his new job as a judge on the Supreme Court of the United States.