President Donald Trump on Monday evening announced his intention to appoint 52-year-old DC Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Conservative groups applauded his decision.
Adam Brandon, President of FreedomWorks, said:
Judge Kavanaugh is a fantastic choice to succeed former Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has proven to be a staunch conservative who has relied on originalism and textualism while serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. We are confident he would strengthen the conservative wing of the Court and preserve the Constitution, as the framers intended.
Judge Kavanaugh’s criticism of the Chevron deference demonstrates his skepticism towards letting unaccountable government agencies run the show when it comes to regulations. Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent in USTA v. FCC paved the way for the repeal of the needless Title II regulation of the internet. FreedomWorks calls upon Majority Leader McConnell to act swiftly and ensure Kavanaugh is confirmed on the Senate floor. We look forward to supporting Kavanaugh throughout the confirmation process.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony List, said:
President Trump has made another outstanding choice in nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, keeping his promise to nominate only originalist judges to the Court. Judge Kavanaugh is an experienced, principled jurist with a strong record of protecting life and constitutional rights, as evidenced by his opinions in Garza v. Hargan and Priests for Life v. HHS.
SBA List is mobilizing the pro-life grassroots nationwide and in key Senate battleground states to urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Judge Kavanaugh. Vulnerable senators up for re-election this year have a choice: stand with the President and their constituents and confirm a Supreme Court justice who will respect and uphold the Constitution, or cave to pressure from the extreme abortion lobby. If every self-avowed pro-life senator votes the right way, Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed easily.
Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a released statement:
President Trump’s nominee of Brett Kavanaugh for the critical vacancy on the Supreme Court could shape America’s legal landscape for decades. Judge Kavanaugh has a distinguished legal career and is committed to interpreting the text and original meaning of the Constitution and statutes. Judges must be bound to the text and original meaning of the law. This simple judicial constraint will prevent the Supreme Court and any court from bending the law to support personal ideologies. The Supreme Court needs to remove itself from political decision-making and personal preferences.
Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, issued the following statement:
This is a historic moment for the United States. This is why conservative women voted overwhelmingly for Donald J. Trump – to ensure that a proper constitutional balance is restored to our nation’s highest court. President Trump made a promise to the American people and, just as with the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch, he is delivering on that promise.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh is abundantly qualified to sit on the bench of the United States Supreme Court. He is among the best and brightest jurists on the appellate courts with a reputation of being fair and impartial in his decisions. Judge Kavanaugh is known as a judge who respects the Constitution as written, refusing to legislate from the bench. This is what we need at this time on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Concerned Women for America is ready to stand up for Judge Kavanaugh and against the political attacks of the left which have little to do with the candidate’s record. This is not just about us; this is about our children and their children. This is about the future of this nation for generations to come, and we plan on giving everything we have in order to leave them a Supreme Court that will protect their liberties and uphold our Constitution.
Simply put, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is an outstanding choice. President Trump, once again, is keeping his promises to the American people by picking a highly qualified, fair, and independent judge – just as he did with Neil Gorsuch. He will be another great justice, and the U.S. Senate should confirm him expeditiously.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
For a second time, President Trump has followed through on his promise to select a nominee from the list he presented during the campaign. President Trump promised a constitutionalist – someone who will call balls and strikes according to the Constitution. We trust the president that Judge Kavanaugh will fit this mold as a justice. Judge Kavanaugh has a long and praiseworthy history of judging as an originalist, and we look forward to having a justice with his philosophical approach on the Court.
From the day Justice Kennedy retired, the Left has sought to make this vacancy all about abortion – even though many other significant issues are at stake including religious freedom and free speech. Under the Obama administration, we saw a growing assault on religious freedom and the courts became a battleground for secularists seeking to remove faith from the public square. Judge Kavanaugh resisted this trend in at least two instances — an HHS contraceptive mandate case and in an opinion supporting inauguration prayers.
We are committed to working with President Trump and senators to help move the grassroots to gain the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh.
Terry Schilling, executive director at American Principles Project, released the following statement:
President Trump has chosen a very qualified judge in Brett Kavanaugh to nominate for the Supreme Court. This will go down as one of the most important decisions of President Trump’s first term and will have a lasting impact on his presidential legacy.
Judge Kavanaugh is a principled constitutionalist who will interpret our nation’s laws as written. If confirmed, he will join the President’s previous nominee Justice Neil Gorsuch in helping to restore a greater respect for the Constitution to the Supreme Court and the entire federal judiciary.
We encourage the Senate to proceed quickly and confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life, issued the following statement:
All too often, democratically enacted laws to protect unborn children and other vulnerable humans have been overridden by judges who abuse their power to impose their own policy preferences. Judge Kavanaugh’s record, viewed as a whole, indicates a willingness to enforce the rights truly based on the text and history of the Constitution, while otherwise leaving policymaking in the hands of elected legislators.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Church published a coalition statement expressing support for Kavanaugh that was signed by several evangelical leaders such as ERLC President Russell Moore, Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear, Trinity International University President David Dockery, D.A. Carson with The Gospel Coalition, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler, Southern Evangelical Seminary President Richard Land, Institute of Religion and Democracy President Mark Tooley among others.
It reads:
As evangelical leaders, our views on just government and human flourishing are based on biblical principles. Our commitment to these principles remains resolute in our rapidly changing culture.
We believe that Scripture teaches that government is justly ordered when it exercises the proper authority delegated to it by God. This means ensuring the rule of law, administering justice fairly and impartially, protecting the God-given dignity of every human being, and safeguarding our constitutional liberties.
As custodians of our first freedoms, Supreme Court justices play a unique role in shaping the trajectory of legal precedent and public morality in our country. Because of the great importance the Supreme Court plays in interpreting the Constitution, it is necessary that nominees be impartial and faithful to the Constitution as it is, not as he or she simply wishes it to be.
We believe that the judicial philosophy of Judge Brett Kavanaugh fulfills the important criteria listed above and merits appointment as the next associate justice on the United States Supreme Court. Given his credentials, and in view of the overwhelming support Judge Brett Kavanaugh received upon his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2006, the U.S. Senate should work diligently to confirm his appointment without obstruction.
Supreme Court nominations are a crucial aspect of any president’s legacy. With Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump has an opportunity to shape the direction of the Supreme Court for a generation or more. As evangelical leaders, we support President Trump’s nominee and will pray and work for a quick confirmation process.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court:
President Trump hit a home run with his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. President Trump stood up for the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law with this nomination. Judge Kavanaugh has a demonstrated record of applying the rule of law rather than legislating from the bench. His record shows Judge Kavanaugh will apply the U.S. Constitution as written and intended by our Founding Fathers.
This nomination is a great victory for constitutional government and a blow to politicized decision-making on the Supreme Court. We have too many politicians as it is in DC, we certainly don’t need any more on the Supreme Court. Most Americans agree with Judge Kavanaugh that the Supreme Court should apply the law as it is written and leave the legislating to the people’s elected representatives in Congress.
And the U.S. Senate should move quickly to work with President Trump to consider and approve Judge Kavanaugh. There is not much radical liberals can do to stop this excellent Supreme Court pick. We expect to see leftist smears, religious bigotry, more threats of violence, etc. but the votes are there for Judge Kavanaugh to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.