Aside from matters of war and peace, arguably the most important responsibility of a president is to nominate qualified judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once confirmed, the appointment is for life, so justices routinely serve decades after the president who appointed them leaves office.
By nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump has chosen a nominee with impeccable qualifications who falls squarely within the mainstream of American legal thought and interpretation. Judge Kavanaugh and I served in President George W. Bush's White House simultaneously, and I have followed his career with great interest. His intellect, experience, and commitment to the Constitution make him the ideal addition to the Supreme Court.
Judge Kavanaugh has the brilliant legal mind we should require of a Supreme Court justice. A Yale Law School graduate, he is widely regarded as a scholar and thought leader, particularly on matters of legal scholarship and history. This is especially important for a judge who seeks to interpret laws and the Constitution as they were originally written rather than pushing his own political views from the bench. Judge Kavanaugh has earned accolades for the clarity and persuasiveness of his writing, and his opinions have been endorsed more than a dozen times by the Supreme Court. He is respected by legal minds across the ideological spectrum, as evidenced by the fact that liberal Justice Elena Kagan hired Judge Kavanaugh to lecture and teach at Harvard Law School.
Not only does Judge Kavanaugh have the extraordinary intellectual gifts we expect of a qualified nominee, but he also has professional experience that is broader and more varied than many of his would-be peers on the current Supreme Court. He was a clerk for Justice Kennedy, whose seat he has been nominated to fill.
Judge Kavanaugh's experience as a federal prosecutor and as a senior official under President George W. Bush gives him a perspective on the executive branch many judges simply don't have. President Bush appointed Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2006, and he was confirmed with bipartisan support. In his 12 years on the bench, Judge Kavanaugh has authored more than 300 opinions, providing an extensive track record as a fair jurist on issues ranging from religious liberty to the regulatory state.
Judge Kavanaugh is distinguished from plenty of other great legal minds with impressive credentials by his judicial philosophy rooted in history, the text of the Constitution, and the writings of the Founders. He is an originalist who believes in textualism: he believes the Constitution--which President Trump aptly described as "the crown jewel of our Democracy"--should be interpreted as it was written, not as one wishes it would have been written.
He once articulated his approach this way:
"The judge's job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy. So read the words of the statute as written. Read the text of the Constitution as written, mindful of history and tradition. Don't make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the Constitution. Don't shy away from enforcing constitutional rights that are in the text of the Constitution."
This is particularly important in protecting our fundamental rights as Americans from evolving social mores and the personal political whims of activist judges. Judge Kavanaugh has the proper perspective on separation of powers: Legislators should make the law, and judges should interpret the law.
On top of all of Judge Kavanaugh's qualifications, he possesses values grounded in his Christian faith. He is a reader at his local Catholic parish, serves meals to the homeless, and tutors at local elementary schools. A devoted family man to his wife Ashley and two daughters, he even finds time to coach youth basketball. Kavanaugh's parents shaped his character and inspired his career. His mother was a history teacher at predominantly African American high schools in the 1960s and '70s, and later went to law school and became a prosecutor at a time when few females entered that profession. His father attended law school at nights while working full-time.
The nominee's detractors oppose him mostly for reasons unrelated to his qualifications. Many Democrats are still upset that President Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, was never confirmed to the Supreme Court. But that dispute was the result of Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to abandon the filibuster to rush through Obama appointees. It had nothing to do with Kavanaugh.
Liberals complain that Judge Kavanaugh will overturn Roe v. Wade, but making a judge pledge fealty to support abortion shouldn't be the litmus test for a Supreme Court nominee. This misguided notion stems from the left's longtime belief that the Supreme Court exists to advance political issues it favors but cannot adopt through Congress. Further, the idea that the jurisprudential concept of stare decisis requires that wrongly decided decisions never be reversed is not only ridiculous, but also historically inaccurate. If a judge is faithful to the rule of law, then personal politics are irrelevant.
Much of the opposition to Judge Kavanaugh is founded on hyperbolic absurdity. Potential Democratic presidential candidate and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe released a statement claiming Kavanaugh "will threaten the lives of millions of Americans for decades to come." No reasonable person believes this.
In two short years, President Trump has successfully appointed over 40 quality judges to the federal bench, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. In doing so, President Trump has established a lasting and consequential legacy on the federal judiciary. His thoughtful and wise choice of Judge Kavanaugh will further cement that legacy.
Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith characterized Judge Kavanaugh as "immensely qualified for the Supreme Court: an outstanding lawyer and judge; a great teacher and serious scholar of the law; and a generous, honorable, kind person."
Given Judge Kavanaugh's legal acumen, extraordinary professional journey, and fidelity to the Constitution, the U.S. Senate should expediently schedule his hearing and work to confirm him as a member of the United State Supreme Court.
Tim Griffin is the lieutenant governor of Arkansas.
Editorial on 07/22/2018