Brett Kavanaugh gets his Supreme Court seat, but he may not keep it for much longer; here's why

It was perhaps the most controversial nomination ever but now Judge Brett M Kavanaugh has become the 114th Supreme Court Justice on Saturday despite tremendous opposition against the decision. "It’s been a great political gift for us. The tactics have energized our base," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an interview Saturday with The Washington Post at the time celebrating the swearing in of Justice Kavanaugh.

“I want to thank the mob because they’ve done the one thing we were having trouble doing, which was energizing our base,” he added. While the Conservative majority was shown at court, some Senate Democrats are not pleased - and some of them are calling out for an impeachment.

Lisa Graves, former deputy assistant US Attorney General, who previously worked for a top Democrat reportedly wrote in a Slate column on September 7, "Much of Washington has spent the week focusing on whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed to the Supreme Court. After the revelations of his confirmation hearings, the better question is whether he should be impeached from the federal judiciary. I do not raise that question lightly, but I am certain it must be raised."

Incidentally, this statement was made even before Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford.

There were rumors that he may have lied under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Graves claims that he had when he was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee; he had led them astray about official papers on the chief counsel nominations for Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.). Graves said that she had written those documents. She wrote in the column, "lied. Under oath. And he did so repeatedly. He should not be confirmed. In fact, by his own standard, he should clearly be impeached."

"Even though our political discourse has been defiled by the proliferation of so many politicians' lies, the rules for testifying under oath, whether it’s at the U.S. Senate, trial or deposition, is one of the only sacred vows in a secular society. It should be taken seriously because of that,” Graves said. "[Kavanaugh] certainly held President Clinton to that standard. He’s not above the law any more than the president is above the law.”

For the Democrats, the fight isn't over. To impeach Kavanaugh, the Democrats would need to get back on top and gain the control of the House. The House of Representatives is the only body that has the power to impeach an official. The Washington Post reported that the high powers of the Democratic party have already started discussing his impeachment as their 2020 campaign issue in case he nabs the Supreme Court confirmation. 

"It’s as likely as the Democrats winning the House," said Jed Shugerman, a professor at Fordham University School of Law. "If they take back the House, I would be surprised if they don’t put forth impeachment proceedings in the next Congress,” Shugerman told The Post.

If the party does come to power in the January Congress, it is speculated that the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) would look into Judge Kavanaugh. Nadler said speaking about the issue in the weekly Democratic address: "Accountability is what has been missing under the Republicans. This is something we have to address, in the interest of the American people and for the health and future of our democracy."

And one thing is for sure, impeachment or not, Nadler and other House Democrats have made it clear their scope of interest in Kavanaugh is much more. They will still be looking into the question of whether Kavanaugh lied under oath to the Senate and committed perjury.

There have been 15 judges so far who have been impeached but only one Supreme Court justice has been impeached so far. These impeachments also include President Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying under oath. Kavanaugh was a part of the team that conducted the investigation with prosecutor Kenneth W. Starr. 

Even then, like Shugerman says, Kavanaugh’s impeachment is “exceedingly unlikely,” given the supermajority threshold in the Senate.