Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
One of the most interesting moments from the third day of the Elena Kagan hearings had nothing to do with the hard-hitting questions asked by many senators. For her second round, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) gave us a brief history lesson on gender that we’d all do well to keep in mind. She pointed out that, as late as 1980, no women had ever served on the Supreme Court. If Kagan is confirmed, she will be the fourth, and the Supreme Court will have three women serving concurrently for the first time in history. Klobuchar also noted that, in 1980, no women served on the Senate Judiciary Committee (today there are two), and former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) was the only woman in the entire U.S. Senate (today there are 17 women).
We’ve come a long way, baby. Well, sort of. Less than 20 percent representation by women is better, but still not great.
As discussed yesterday, Kagan did very well in her first round of questions and answers. Several Republican members must have taken notice, because they really stepped up their pressure on her on many of the hot-button social issues we’ve come to expect at Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Much of their questioning revolved, yet again, around the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,” which both Kagan and AAUW staunchly oppose. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) accused her of substituting her policy preferences for what the law required. However, Kagan pointed out that military recruiters at Harvard were still given access to law students in a way that satisfied the school’s antidiscrimination policy. She also pointed out that her personal opposition to the policy did not unduly influence her decision making during her time as solicitor general.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) pressed Kagan further on her views regarding “partial-birth” abortion and whether she attempted to pressure the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to change a public statement on late-term abortion procedures. During her time as deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Kagan advised President Bill Clinton about legislation dealing with late-term abortion procedures. Specifically, she advocated in various memoranda that the Clinton administration support a compromise bill offered by then-Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) that would have banned post-viability abortions, with exceptions for both the life and health of the woman. She avowed that none of her actions were untoward, and she was acting in a manner consistent with a presidential adviser.
There was a lot thrown at Kagan today, but nothing has changed as far as the air of inevitability that surrounds her nomination. While some Judiciary Committee members such as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) averred that a filibuster may still be a possibility, other staunch conservatives appear to believe otherwise. Republican Whip Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said that a “filibuster would be highly improbable,” while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who doesn’t take a backseat to many others as far as conservative principles go, referred to her as “soon-to-be-Justice Kagan.”
Kagan completed her public portion of the hearings on Wednesday. The committee then proceeded with a customary private session that includes a discussion of her FBI background check and other documents not released to the public. The outside witnesses will proceed on Thursday afternoon, after funeral services for Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV).
At the conclusion of the open session, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) commented that Kagan answered questions more directly and forcefully than any Supreme Court nominee in recent memory. Unless a heretofore unknown, earth-shattering revelation pops up in the next few weeks, it seems safe to say that the next time the American public sees Elena Kagan will be at her swearing-in ceremony.
Elena Kagan Confirmation Hearings: Preview | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
