On Monday July 9th, President Trump announced Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. As workers and beneficiaries of the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements, it is important that we understand and clearly articulate to our community members and those elected to represent us how detrimental Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation would be to our community. Here are just a few of his documented opinions:
VOTING INTEGRITY
- In 2000, Kavanaugh was on the legal team that helped stop the Florida recount and secure the Bush presidency.
EXECUTIVE POWER
- In 2009, Kavanaugh argued in a law review article that a sitting president should not be subject to civil lawsuits, criminal investigations, questions from a prosecutor or defense attorney, or be criminally indicted no matter what evidence of wrongdoing is uncovered. This could have serious implications for the current Mueller investigation.
HEALTHCARE
- In 2011, Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion in a case in which others on his appellate court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Kavanaugh argued that a president could decline to enforce a statute such as Obamacare even if a court upholds its constitutionality.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS
- In 2012, Kavanaugh wrote a majority opinion for the D.C. Circuit Court striking down an Obama-era program to regulate air pollution that cross state boundaries. The Supreme Court later took up the case and overruled him 6-2.
CONSUMER RIGHTS
- In 2016, Kavanaugh wrote a 110-page opinion arguing that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—a financial regulatory entity that returned nearly $12 billion to 29 million customers from 2011 to 2017—is unconstitutional.
WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
- In 2017, Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion concerning whether a pregnant 17-year-old being held by immigration authorities was allowed to leave their custody to obtain an abortion. The court ruled in agreement with a Texas judge that the teenager was legally entitled to an abortion.
If Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, it could take generations to undo the damage to our voting protections, civil rights, access to healthcare, environmental protections, consumer rights, women’s reproductive rights, and immigration rights…just to name a few! Let’s send a CLEAR, COLLECTIVE, and CONSISTENT message that we will NOT allow our hard-earned gains to be destroyed!
OUR time to act is NOW!
CALL YOUR SENATORS at 202-224-3121!
Strongly urge them to #STOPKAVANAUGH SCOTUS confirmation until after the November 2018 election and the 116th Congress is sworn in.
District of Columbia Residents: Please direct your calls to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
