Elena Kagan Nomination

Statement

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Although Ms. Kagan has a first-rate intellect, she has no judicial experience. In addition, she has only very modest experience as a practicing lawyer. This lack of experience is unusual. During our meeting, Ms. Kagan assured me that documents from her time as a domestic policy advisor in the Clinton White House will give us invaluable insight into how she would approach her job as a member of the Supreme Court.

Given that, I was disappointed that Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced that the confirmation hearings will start June 28th. The Committee has not yet received any of the 160,000 pages of documents requested from Ms. Kagan's service in the Clinton Administration. Since Ms. Kagan herself has told us how integral these will be to deciphering her judicial philosophy, and the Clinton Library has said they most likely will not be able to release the documents by that date, I think setting the hearing so soon was an unfortunate decision.

If confirmed as a life-tenured justice, Ms. Kagan's rulings could affect the life, liberty, and property of Texans and all Americans for generations. Our nation deserves a nominee who reveres the law and applies it impartially. Through the confirmation process, I look forward to questioning Ms. Kagan and determining whether she meets this high standard and is fit to serve on the highest court in the land.

Source