Senate panel votes 13-6 to confirm Kagan ’81

The nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan ’81 to the Supreme Court was endorsed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday in a 13-6 vote that went mostly along party lines.

Democrats voiced strong support for Kagan, indicating that they thought she would be a fair and honest judge who could serve effectively on the Supreme Court despite her lack of direct judicial experience. Republicans, though, voiced concerns that Kagan would become an activist justice, allowing her liberal political beliefs to influence the decisions she would make from the bench.

All 12 Democrats on the committee voted to support the solicitor general and they were joined by just one Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was also the only Republican on the committee to support President Barack Obama's last nominee to the court, Sonia Sotomayor ’76. The full Senate is expected to confirm Kagan before its August recess.

In a statement, Obama called Tuesday's vote a “bipartisan affirmation of [Kagan’s] strong performance during her confirmation hearings.”

“Elena Kagan is one of this country's leading legal minds, and has shown throughout this process that, if confirmed, she would be a fair and impartial Supreme Court justice who understands how decisions made by the court affect the lives of everyday Americans," Obama said.

In breaking party ranks, Graham said there were “100 reasons” for which he could vote against Kagan’s confirmation, but decided to support her nonetheless.

“I’m going to vote for her because I believe the last election had consequences and this president chose someone who is qualified, who has the experience and knowledge to serve on this court, who’s in the mainstream of liberal philosophy, who understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politician,” Graham said.

In basing his decision solely on Kagan’s qualifications and character, rather than on his judgments about her ideology, Graham strayed from a standard followed by even Obama himself who, as a senator, said that it was acceptable practice to vote against a nominee for ideological reasons.

Other Republicans were more vocal in their criticism of Kagan’s political beliefs and chastised Kagan for issues previously raised during her hearing in front of the committee, including her role in barring military recruiters from the campus of Harvard Law School when she served as the school's dean. Some senators said that the decision, made in protest of the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers, influenced their decisions to vote against Kagan's confirmation.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the committee’s top-ranking Republican, said that a judge “must set their politics aside when they put on the robe” and that he did not believe Kagan would meet this standard.

Sen. Arlen Specter of of Pennsylvania, the former Republican senator who switched party affiliations last year but lost his bid for reelection in his state’s Democratic primary in May, supported Kagan but only with “grave concerns,” asserting that she did not answer questions during hearings in a manner acceptable to him.

Other Democrats on the committee, however, strongly praised Kagan.

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“There's no question Elena Kagan is eminently qualified,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California. “I, for one, have very high hopes for the philosophy of moderation and restraint that a Justice Kagan could bring to the court.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and the committee chairman, argued that, contrary to Republican criticism, Kagan “demonstrated an impressive knowledge of the law and fidelity to it ... She spoke of judicial restraint, her respect for our democratic institutions, and her commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.”

If confirmed, Kagan would be the third consecutive Princetonian to join the Supreme Court as well as the third sitting female justice. She would also be the fourth female justice in the court’s history.

Check here for continuing coverage of the Kagan nomination and articles from The Daily Princetonian archives.