Grassley, Harkin sound off on Kagan nomination

Iowa’s two U.S. Senators have each released a statement regarding the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan by President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will consider the nominee, said Kagan, who has not previously served in a judicial role, will receive extensive vetting.

A lifetime appointment requires a thorough vetting and I expect Elena Kagan to receive fair, respectful and deliberative consideration. The Constitution gives the Senate a tremendous responsibility to carefully review the President’s nominees to the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee must take time to ensure that the nominee will be true to the Constitution and apply the law, not personal politics, feelings or preferences. With no judicial experience, it becomes even more important that we ask thorough questions to determine that Ms. Kagan truly understands the constitutional role of a Supreme Court justice.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, praised Kagan’s qualifications and the new dimension she will add to the court.

Elena Kagan is extremely qualified. She has the intellect and experience necessary to serve on our nation’s highest court and her stellar legal credentials have been recognized by liberal and conservative lawyers alike. She clerked for two judges for whom I have enormous respect — Judge Abner Mikva and Justice Thurgood Marshall. I am also encouraged that in this nomination, the President selected a candidate from outside of the Judiciary. Elena Kagan is recognized as one of the leading legal educators in our country.

I am confident that, if confirmed, she will be an important voice on our court for the rule of law and constitutional rights and values. She will ensure equality and give proper effect to our most important statutes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Civil Rights Act, so our most vulnerable citizens receive the fullest protections of the law.

Elena Kagan’s nomination comes after a series of firsts in her career — first female dean of Harvard Law School and first female Solicitor General — setting the stage for what may be only the fourth woman to serve on the court in our history.

If confirmed, Kagan, 50, will replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Most progressive voices, including Marcia Greenberger of the National Women’s Law Center and Michael Keegan of People for the American Way, have come down in favor of the nomination. There has, of course, already been some backlash from individuals and groups on the right who view the Kagan nomination negatively on mostly particular policy issues such as abortion.

“She has been an abortion advocate and activist and an apologist for activist judges,” said Charmaine Yoest of the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life.

Carrie Severino, counsel for the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, said, “Obama wants to pack the court with reliable liberal votes to rubber-stamp an agenda that he knows the American people would not accept. What better way than to appoint a loyalist from his own Department of Justice with a thin public record to advance his leftist legacy through the Court.”