US Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan vowed at her first confirmation hearing on Monday to be an impartial justice and seemed on track to become the fourth woman ever to sit on the history-shaping bench.
“I will work hard and I will do my best to consider every case impartially, modestly, with commitment to principle and in accordance with law,” Kagan told the Senate Judiciary Committee in her opening statement.
Amid bitter “war on terrorism” debates pitting security concerns against civil liberties, Kagan said the highest US court must ensure “that our government never oversteps its proper bounds or violates the rights of individuals,” but must also know its “limits” and respect Congress’ will.
Kagan, who as US solicitor general has represented US President Barack Obama’s administration before the justices, sat quietly, often with a slightly pained expression on her face, through hours of Republican assaults on her record.
The committee’s top Republican, Jeff Sessions, said that Kagan would be the first non-judge to reach the summit of US justice in nearly 40 years and charged her “career has been consumed more by politics than law.”
“This worries many Americans,” Sessions said, questioning whether she would be able to set aside politics and rule impartially from the bench.
Kagan, 50, was expected, barring a dramatic development, to win confirmation as one of the nine judges whose rulings on divisive issues including abortion, gun rights and racial segregation have shaped the very fabric of US society.
“Something tells me this is likely to be your last confirmation hearing,” Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said shortly after proceedings opened in the crowded committee room.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, the panel’s chairman, declared Kagan’s legal qualifications “unassailable” and said “there is no basis to question her integrity.”
Naming US Supreme Court justices ranks among the most consequential powers of the US presidency, as a judge’s lifetime tenure typically stretches well beyond the influence of the temporary occupant of the White House.
The justices serve as the final arbiters of the US Constitution, setting precedents for the entire US judicial system and adjudicating bitter political disputes often in narrow 5-4 rulings that can take a lifetime to reverse.
Looming November mid-term elections have fueled bitter political tensions in the high-stakes battle over Kagan, who would be the youngest justice, and Republicans have refused to rule out trying to block a confirmation vote.
“Your relatively thin record clearly shows that you’ve been a political lawyer,” Republican Senator Charles Grassley said.
Democrats and their two independent allies control 58 Senate seats, well over the 50 needed to confirm Kagan, but shy of the 60 votes needed to end debate and proceed to a final confirmation ballot.
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