Former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. – now a top lobbyist in Washington, D.C. – has been chosen to guide Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, through what is expected to be a grueling Senate confirmation process.

Kyl, who worked side by side with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is now senior counsel in the lobbying division of Covington & Burling LLP, a white-shoe law firm that advises corporations on regulatory and public policy matters.

According to Roll Call, the 76-year-old lawyer's political chops are so sharp, if he "does not have the ideal background for successfully shepherding a Supreme Court nominee through this Senate, perhaps no one does."

CNN reports Kyl was suggested for the position of  "chief sherpa" – a sherpa is an expert climber who lead expeditions into the Himalayas – by Mitch McConnell, after the White House approached the Senate Majority Leader for advice.

Kyl, named by Time magazine as one of as one of America's 10 Best Senators in 2006, will certainly have his work cut out for him.

Already, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has pledged to "oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything less."

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