Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding his meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh today:
“Judge Kavanaugh could not give me assurances he would uphold statutory protections that prevent Americans with preexisting conditions from losing their health care. He also could not commit to upholding the lawful use of subpoenas against the White House or the president, as affirmed in United States v. Nixon. Rhode Islanders who have watched the Trump administration’s attacks on women and the rule of law would take little solace in Judge Kavanaugh’s answers.
“However, this nominee faces another challenge in winning my support. Republican nominees are trained to come before the Judiciary Committee saying all the right things about respect for precedent and ‘balls and strikes.’ When confirmed, these self-proclaimed judicial conservatives morph into far-right judicial activists, bending over backwards to advance elite corporate and Republican interests at the expense of regular Americans. The Roberts Court faces a crisis of legitimacy if it continues down this path.
“Mr. Kavanaugh spent his professional career serving corporate and Republican interests. There is virtually no transparency into the dark money forces now campaigning for his confirmation. After all this, he has a long way to convince me that unions, consumers, injured workers, vulnerable communities, or victims of pollution will get fair treatment from him.”
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