Jason Smith on Kavanaugh choice: President Trump made an outstanding selection

(From 8th District Congressman Jason Smith)

One of the most important decisions a president will ever make is who to nominate to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States. Our country places a tremendous amount of responsibility on the nine men and women of the Court, and these justices shape the direction of the country for decades after their confirmation. Retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and he served on the bench for 29 years after President Reagan left the White House. This week President Trump announced his highly anticipated nomination to replace Justice Kennedy on the Court: Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Judge Kavanaugh is one of the most qualified and solidly conservative judges who President Donald Trump could have chosen to be the next Supreme Court justice. When the president promised the country he would nominate “someone with impeccable credentials, great intellect, unbiased judgment, and deep reverence for the laws and Constitution of the United States,” he could have been describing Judge Kavanaugh directly. Judge Kavanaugh has a proven track record of interpreting the Constitution as written and upholding the rule of law. He currently sits on the most consequential appeals court in the country and has decided hundreds of cases on difficult issues. The Supreme Court has endorsed his opinions more than a dozen times, and his writings are regularly cited by judges across the country. He is “a true judge’s judge,” to borrow a phrase from our president.

In his introduction speech to the country, Judge Kavanaugh promised that “if confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.” Judge Kavanaugh understands that the judicial branch’s job is to interpret the law as written, not to be activist judges who legislate from the bench. He has stressed that it isn’t the role of the judiciary to make up new rights in the Constitution and that the courts shouldn’t shy away from enforcing the rights clearly stated in the text of the Constitution.

In a landmark case determining Second Amendment rights, Judge Kavanaugh was the dissenting voice of reason arguing the Second Amendment clearly guarantees law-abiding citizens the right to arm and defend themselves. Even though he was in the minority, his clear reasoning helped pave the way for the biggest Supreme Court win for firearm owners since the Second Amendment was written. And in the hundreds of cases he has decided, he has developed a track record of taking away power from unelected government bureaucrats and returning it to the people.

Despite Judge Kavanaugh’s outstanding qualifications and firm commitment to our nation’s founding document, the resistance to his nomination mobilized instantly. A flood of liberal Senators publicly committed to obstructing Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination within the hour of President Trump’s announcement. Mainstream media outlets blasted his pick as controversial before the announcement was even made. Protestors at the Supreme Court were seen filling in the blanks on their pre-made signs with Kavanaugh’s name. And fewer than twelve hours after Judge Kavanaugh was introduced as President Trump’s nominee, Senator Chuck Schumer announced he will oppose Kavanaugh with “everything he’s got.”

Judge Kavanaugh strikes me as a good and decent family man, and it’s a shame so many obstructionists have committed to opposing him without even sitting down with him. I will be praying for him and his family as they go through the Senate confirmation process, which history tells us will be the absolute ugliest of politics. President Trump has made an outstanding selection with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a man who will uphold the rule of law and interpret the Constitution as written. He deserves a swift confirmation to be the next associate justice on the United States Supreme Court.