President Obama picks Solicitor General Kagan to Supreme Court

President Barack Obama announced Monday that he is nominating Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Obama made the announcement at 10 a.m. from the East Room.

Kagan will be Obama's second nominee to the court and would replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Her confirmation would not change the court's voting balance, as she would replace one of the court's most liberal justices.

Kagan would become the third woman to sit on the court, which would be the most women who have served at once.

The White House looked at a handful of finalists, but Kagan had long been seen as a likely nominee because of expectations that she would easily win confirmation from the Senate.

Though she has never served as a judge, Kagan is seen as a consensus-builder whose confirmation would go down more smoothly with conservative lawmakers than some other potential high-court picks.

The Senate confirmed her to the solicitor general post last year, though 31 Republicans voted against her nomination.

Kagan, 50, was the dean of the Harvard Law School from 2003-09 and served as a White House adviser under President Bill Clinton.

She is the first woman to be solicitor general and, if confirmed, would be the fourth woman appointed to the Supreme Court.