US President Donald Trump has nominated federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh, 53, to succeed Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, US media report.

Trump is seeking to shift the balance of the court further to the right.

Kavanaugh, of Maryland, sits on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

He is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

Kavanaugh was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

He previously worked in the Bush White House as Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary and was a partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm.

Notably, in 1993, Kavanaugh worked as Anthony Kennedy's law clerk.