Confirm Kavanaugh

by Peter J. Thomas, Chairman, The Conservative Caucus

After eight Obama years in which the Constitution was under constant assault, President Trump has emerged as the Constitution’s new champion.  Having already added one fine constitutional conservative to the Supreme Court, he has now nominated another in Brett Kavanaugh.

We need only look back a few years to see how important the Court is to protecting the Constitution and the rule of law.  During the Obama presidency, the Court had to stop an authoritarian Obama when he:

• Made recess appointments while the Senate was not in recess
• Tried to give de facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in violation of Federal law
• Tried to force all fifty states to accept Medicaid expansion in defiance of the Constitution’s federalism
• Tried to deprive religious groups such as Little Sisters of the Poor of their First Amendment Rights
• Went beyond the law in imposing job-killing regulations against energy production and use

Presidents Clinton and Obama appointed four justices who see themselves as a permanent constitutional convention, amending the Constitution (and Federal law) whenever they deem it necessary, following their own political preferences. 

What the Court needs are justices who will faithfully follow the Constitution as written, in accordance with its intent.  They are to be impartial umpires, not players in the political game.

Senate Democrats are threatening an obstructive role, hoping to block any nominee chosen by President Trump.  They would vote to confirm only if Trump delegated the decision to them.  However, the Constitutional Convention debated whether to let the Senate pick judges, and rejected that in favor of giving that power to the President.  “Advice and consent” was never intended to allow the Senate to dictate to the President.

The President has made a commendable choice for the Supreme Court.  The Senate should now move promptly to consider the nomination, debate it, and vote to confirm.