July 10, 2018
WTAS: Judge Kavanaugh Is “Eminently Qualified,” “One Of The Sharpest Legal Minds In The Country”
The praise for Judge Kavanaugh has been effusive since he was nominated last night and on top of that, analysts have continued to note the nearly impossible odds Democrats face of obstructing his nomination:
Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary: “I worked with Brett in the Bush White House. He is calm, cool and unflappable. He is also intellectually driven – one of the wisest and most thoughtful people I’ve ever met. He also happens to be a really nice guy.” (Ari Fleischer, Twitter, 7/9/18)
Hugh Hewitt, Radio Host:“Conservatives must understand that the president made his choice and that Kavanaugh is eminently qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, and they should get about the business of confirming him.” (Hugh Hewitt, “Brett Kavanaugh Is ‘John Roberts 2.0,’” The Washington Post, 7/9/18)
Igor Bobic, Politics Reporter, The Huffington Post: “Hard to see right now how Kavanaugh doesn’t get Collins, Murkowski, plus a few Dems. But on to the hearing!” (Igor Bobic, Twitter, 7/9/18)
Mitt Romney, Former Republican Presidential Nominee:“Esteemed by his colleagues, faithful to the Constitution, a record of thoughtful decisions, and already confirmed for the DC Circuit; Brett Kavanaugh has the right stuff.” (Mitt Romney, Twitter, 7/9/18)
Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker Of The House: “.@realdonaldtrump has once again chosen an superb nominee for the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh is smart, driven, and will bring years worth of experience to #SCOTUS.” (Newt Gingrich, Twitter, 7/9/18)
Jennifer Mascott, Former Clerk from 2006-2007 and Assistant Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School:“Judge Kavanaugh has one of the sharpest legal minds in the country. He has been a thought leader on the D.C. Circuit and has served consistently as an independent, fair-minded judge. He is very down-to-earth and kind and I am grateful for his willingness to serve as a mentor to his clerks.” (“Former Clerks For Judge Kavanaugh Send Their Support,” SCOTUSBrief.org, 7/9/18)
Richard Re, Former Clerk from 2008-2009, Former Clerk to Justice Kennedy, and Assistant Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law:“Judge Kavanaugh is a master of the legal craft. His opinions are scholarly, influential, and unyieldingly reasoned. He has already left an important mark on the law, and, if confirmed, he would continue to be a fair-minded voice on the bench.” (“Former Clerks For Judge Kavanaugh Send Their Support,”SCOTUSBrief.org, 7/9/18)
Heather K. Gerken, Dean, Yale Law School: “I have known Brett Kavanaugh for many years. I can personally attest that, in addition to his government and judicial service, Judge Kavanaugh has been a longtime friend to many of us in the Yale Law School community. Ever since I joined the faculty, I have admired him for serving as a teacher and mentor to our students and for hiring a diverse set of clerks, in all respects, during his time on the court.” (“Brett Kavanaugh ’90 Nominated to U.S. Supreme Court, Yale Law School, 7/9/18)
Kate Stith, Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law, Yale Law School: “He is a terrific judge,” said. “In my federal criminal law class, I love teaching his opinions because they are smart, thoughtful, and clear. He’s also been a wonderful mentor and teacher to our students—not just to those who clerk for him, but those who meet with him during one of his many visits to Yale Law School.” (“Brett Kavanaugh ’90 Nominated to U.S. Supreme Court, Yale Law School, 7/9/18)
William N. Eskridge, Jr., the John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence, Yale Law School: “Brett Kavanaugh has been one of the most learned judges in America on a variety of issues, ranging from theories of statutory interpretation to separation of powers. We are proud that he is our graduate and eager to continue to learn from his judicial opinions and scholarly publications.” (“Brett Kavanaugh ’90 Nominated to U.S. Supreme Court, Yale Law School, 7/9/18)
Abbe Gluck, Professor of Law, Yale Law School: “Politics have deeply harmed our Supreme Court nomination process. But in terms of the man now before us, Brett Kavanaugh is a true intellectual–a leading thinker and writer on the subjects of statutory interpretation and federal courts; an incomparable mentor–someone who picks law clerks of all backgrounds and viewpoints; and a fair-minded jurist who believes in the rule of law. He is humble, collegial and cares deeply about the federal courts.” (“Brett Kavanaugh ’90 Nominated to U.S. Supreme Court, Yale Law School, 7/9/18)
The Daily Signal HEADLINE: “Trump Hits Another Home Run With Supreme Court Pick Brett Kavanaugh”(John G. Malcom, Elizabeth Slattery, “Trump Hits Another Home Run With Supreme Court Pick Brett Kavanaugh,” The Daily Signal, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Chris Hayes, MSNBC: “This was the most Gorsuch-like pick of the bunch, and by that I mean someone who punched all the tickets, all of the sort-of elite credentials, and who had also spent his life in conservative, legal, circles.” (MSNBC, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Dana Bash, Chief Political Correspondent, CNN:“It is going to be harder for Red State Democrats…to vote against him.” (CNN, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Judge Jeanine Pirro, Fox News: “When I was watching him tonight – we know he has the credentials, we know that he’s smart, he’s got the experience. He’s got it all, he’s got the family. But I liked him. This is a guy who coaches basketball, he does all kinds of food pantries, he’s like your next door neighbor but he’s brilliant.” (Fox News, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: MSNBC: Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate: “I think the predictability – the fact that George W. Bush would’ve picked him, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney would’ve picked him, tells you that this was a decision that done by The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation – the groups that do this have almost entirely controlled the process and that’s why he’s on the list. Typical, traditional pick, this is not an alarming or sort of wacky pick that we might have expected.” (MSNBC, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Chuck Todd, Political Director, NBC News:“This is a pick that is a very confirmable pick.” (NBC, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Luke McCloud, Former Clerk To Judge Kavanaugh:“I think that the president has made an excellent choice with Judge Kavanaugh. He’s extremely well qualified, has a record, as you said, of over 300 decisions in some of the most complicated areas of the law that federal courts face. Across those decisions, he’s earned the respect of a wide variety of folks in the legal industry, judges across the political spectrum. Another thing that folks should know about Judge Kavanaugh is he is just a great guy — maybe even better — he’s a great judge, but he’s an excellent person. He’s very involved in his community, whether it’s serving meals with Catholic charities or coaching his daughter’s little league teams or just being a mentor to young lawyers like myself.” (CNN, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Tom Goldstein, Publisher, SCOTUSblog and Lecturer, Harvard Law School: “Well you got a pick who you would’ve expected to see from any Republican president going into any Republican-controlled Senate. There’s nothing remarkably extreme about Judge Kavanaugh and there’s nothing really that Democrats can grab hold of along the lines of say, abortion, that would give them a really good chance of peeling off the one or two votes that they would need in order to stop him. We did see a rush of Republican Senators to endorse him and Democratic Senators to oppose him, but in general, what I think the president did is he picked someone who is a really well-known person, has a lot of very strong credentials, a lot of experience, and is probably going to sail through this process as much as anyone can in this fraught political environment.” (NBC, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Sean Hannity, Fox News: “Harvard, Yale, Georgetown professor, his credentials are impeccable. I find it interesting, that the Supreme Court – and he actually argued before the Supreme Court but 11 Supreme Court decisions endorsed his views, which is a pretty remarkable rate.”(Fox News, 7/9/18)
VIDEO: Willie Geist, MSNBC: “This is an eminently qualified guy, again you can disagree with his positions on certain issues, but this is a guy who is qualified for this job, this is a guy who’s been supported by President Bush, by Jeb Bush, by John McCain, really conventional Republicans, and establishment Republicans. He’s not a wild-eyed choice, and probably smart by President Trump because it makes it difficult on Democrats when they say the world is coming to an end because of his Supreme Court pick.” (MSNBC, 7/10/18)
VIDEO: Michael Steele, MSNBC:“Kavanaugh brings to the table a lot of boxes that are going to get checked for red state Democrats, for a conservative base, and for this White House. It’s a solid pick. His jurisprudence is one that has been noted 11 times by the Supreme Court in affirming his decisions, and so this — this jurist, this future Supreme Court Justice, brings a lot to the table.” (MSNBC, 7/10/18)
VIDEO: Jennifer Mascott, Former Clerk: “He’s an independent, fair minded judge. He has one of the sharpest legal minds in the country. I think you would say today and a story yesterday said on paper he may be the most qualified Supreme Court nominee in generations. But in addition to that, he’s also extremely approachable. He’s a great mentor to former clerks. I clerked for him his first year on the bench so finished my clerkship 11 years ago and he’s still one of the first people that I contact if I have a professional question. He’s hired a diverse array of law clerks, a majority of which are women and he’s a terrific family, community man. He coaches his daughter’s basketball teams and serves meals in the community through his church.” (CNN, 7/10/18)
VIDEO: Justin Walker, Former Clerk: “Getting to work for Judge Kavanaugh was an amazing honor and it was exciting to be in his chambers. It was exciting to be around someone who has that kind of reverence for the Constitution, someone who takes mentoring and family as seriously as he does, and someone who was always an independent thinker. Every case that came to us, whether the litigants were right, left or center, regardless of whether the government was involved, criminal defendants, corporations, small plaintiffs, he just wanted to know: ‘okay, what does the law say? What’s the text? What is the structure? What’s the history of the Constitution or the statute that’s involved?’ And so it was just a great learning experience. And so, like Jen, I just think the world of him.” (CNN, 7/10/18)