The Kagan Confirmation: Day Three Summary

Brian Walsh / June 30, 2010

In Day Three questioning of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, conservative senators continued to press for clear, forthright answers to resolve the serious questions surrounding Kagan’s unlawful policy on military recruiting at Harvard Law School and her views on the reach of federal power to regulate details of American life, the constitutionality of state bans on partial-birth abortions, and the validity of recent Court precedent on the First and Second Amendments.

After a round of obscurantist answers on Day Two, Senators Sessions, Hatch, Grassley, Kyl, Graham, Cornyn, and Coburn labored to elicit direct answers from Kagan on her actual views and her past words and deeds. While doing so has proven quite difficult, conservative Senators have established key points that should disturb those who believe that Supreme Court nominees should demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to historic American constitutionalism and the rule of law:

1. Kagan can offer no plausible justification for her decision as dean of Harvard Law School to violate federal law by refusing to provide equal on-campus access to military recruiters, as required by the Solomon Amendment. (more…)