Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing concluded on Thursday, even though she didn’t once set foot inside the hearing room. Instead, the day was reserved for outside witness testimony. Four panel’s worth of witnesses spoke before the Judiciary Committee, with each person offering thoughts on the Kagan nomination and her fitness to serve as a Supreme Court justice. The Democrats and Republicans each invited witnesses; as you might imagine, then, some were strongly supportive while others were staunchly opposed.
A total of 24 witnesses appeared before the committee yesterday, and this blog post contains a detailed and complex analysis of each person’s testimony. Just kidding! What we have done, in actuality, is pull some quotes from several testimonies to provide a flavor of the day’s major themes.
We did want to highlight one witness’s testimony in particular: AAUW’s great friend Lilly Ledbetter kicked off the proceedings yesterday with a typically eloquent and thoughtful statement. Lilly spoke movingly about the pattern of discrimination she faced at Goodyear and subsequent legal challenges that ultimately reached the Supreme Court. As AAUW loyalists are well aware, Lilly lost her case by a 5-4 margin, so she placed particular emphasis on the importance of even a single court seat. In her words, “My case shows that who gets appointed to the Supreme Court really makes a difference. If one more person like Justice Ginsburg or Justice Stevens were on the Court — one more person who understands what it’s like for ordinary people living in the real world — then my case would have turned out differently.”
Before getting to highlights of other statements (the links to all of which can be found here), a note about timing: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chair of the Judiciary Committee, will keep the record open for written questions to be submitted that Kagan will have to answer. Typically, that process takes about a week, and once it concludes, the committee will move ahead to a vote. Barring any unusual delays, the committee vote should occur within the next few weeks. At that point, the nomination will reach the full Senate. The Senate Democratic leadership is aiming to have Kagan’s confirmation vote before the start of the August recess, which will likely begin on or around August 9.
With that, here are some notable quotes from both majority and minority witnesses.
Captain Kurt White (Majority): President, Harvard Law Armed Forces Association
“I am most grateful, however, for the opportunity to help dispel the untrue and unfair accusations of anti-military bias that have been leveled against Ms. Elena Kagan, a woman who, in my short time of knowing her as the Dean of the Harvard Law School, went to such great lengths to show her respect for and appreciation of the United States military.”
Captain Pete Hegseth (Minority): Executive Director, Vets for Freedom
“I find [Elena Kagan’s] actions toward military recruiters at Harvard unbecoming a civic leader, and unbefitting a nominee to the United States Supreme Court.”
Gregory Garre (Majority): Partner, Latham & Watkins; Former Solicitor General of the United States
“I was pleased to sign a joint letter recently sent to this Committee signed by ten former Solicitors General from different Administrations going back for nearly a quarter of a century supporting General Kagan’s nomination.”
Ed Whelan (Minority): President, Ethics and Public Policy Center
“What Ms. Kagan does offer President Obama (in addition to her formidable intellect) is a record, both in the Clinton White House and as Harvard law school dean, as a shrewd political operator who shares his leftist values and who will use her savvy to try to advance them.”
Marcia Greenberger (Majority): Founder and Co-President, National Women’s Law Center
“Women have a particularly great stake in equal justice and judges’ commitment to give life and vitality to the laws of our land. … Elena Kagan’s record demonstrates that she will bring to the Court that understanding and commitment to the rule of law and to equal justice.”
Dr. Charmaine Yoest (Minority): President & CEO, Americans United for Life
“Based on our research, we believe that Solicitor General Kagan will be an agenda-driven judge on the Court, and that she will strongly oppose even the most widely-accepted protections for unborn human life.”
Elena Kagan Confirmation Hearings: Preview | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
I do not think Ms. Elena Kagan is qualified to be a member of the Supreme Court. I feel she is too inexperienced to be a Supreme Court Judge. Long after Pres. Obama is out of office, she will still be on the court giving opinions and passing laws with which many Americans disagree.!!