Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Engel Statement on Brett Kavanaugh’s Nomination to the Supreme Court


  “Unsurprisingly, the President has chosen another regressive ideologue to serve on the Supreme Court in Brett Kavanaugh. Over the course of a career that can only be described as hyper-partisan, Kavanaugh has demonstrated a history of anti-women, anti-labor, anti-consumer views, and his ultra-conservatism could turn back the clock on decades of American progress. The fact that Kavanaugh cut his teeth working under Kenneth Starr on the Clinton impeachment tells you almost everything you need to know. His appointment by George W. Bush to the federal bench was stalled for three years because of his partisan record, with Senator Ted Kennedy saying at the time Kavanaugh would be the ‘least experienced and most partisan appointee to the court in decades.’ And Kavanaugh is also on record as saying he believes the President of the United States should be exempt from both criminal prosecution and civil suits while in office. How convenient for our current Commander-in-Chief.

“There was a time when a Supreme Court pick like this was considered too outlandish, even for Republicans. But the GOP has so thoroughly lost its moral center that now this type of reckless choice is par for the course.

“When considering what to do next, Senate Democrats would be wise to remember the lessons learned during the ill-fated Merrick Garland nomination in 2016. There, Republicans completely ignored 200 years of etiquette and obliterated the process by which we appoint Supreme Court judges. They also got what they wanted. The Senate should, at the least, postpone consideration of this nomination until after the November elections.”

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