Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent out a warning to his colleagues Monday, hours before President Trump announces his Supreme court pick Monday night, for questioning during the confirmation process.
[Update: Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court]
As part of the upper chamber’s constitutional duty, the Senate is tasked with approving presidential appointments to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Trump’s nominee will soon face questioning from the Judiciary Committee, and on the Senate floor Grassley delivered guidelines on what he deemed would be “inappropriate” to ask the eventual nominee: How they would rule in certain cases and what are their personal views of the merits of Supreme Court precedent.
“Justices have a way of surprising us,” said Grassley during a prepared statement. “Who could have predicted that Justice Scalia would strike down a ban on flag-burning? It’s a fool’s errand to try to predict how a justice will rule on a hypothetical future case.”
With a renewed focus on LGBT rights and the future of the Roe v. Wade, many left-leaning groups have already expressed disdain over Trump’s list of 25 candidates, which could solidify a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
Reportedly among the president’s front-runners are federal judges Brett Kavanaugh, Tom Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge, and Amy Coney Barrett. Of the group, anti-abortion advocates prefer Hardiman and Barrett, yet Trump’s judicial adviser insists that none of the candidates have a clear position on Roe v. Wade.
“But this regular uproar about Roe v. Wade shows the difference between how many Democrats and Republicans view the courts. Liberal outside groups and many Democrats have a litmus test. They are results-oriented and focus on the policy outcomes of judicial decisions. They expect — they demand — their judges to rule in favor of their preferred policies,” Grassley said.
“Republicans, on the other hand, want judges who rule according to the law and leave the policymaking to elected representatives. I don’t want judges who decide cases based on whether the results are liberal or conservative. Judges should rule according to the law, no matter what their views of the policy outcomes are,” he continued.
Pointing to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Grassley added that prior to her confirmation hearing she promised there would be “no hints, no forecasts, no previews.
“The bottom line is senators should not try to extract assurances from nominees on how they will decide particular cases in exchange for a confirmation vote,” Grassley said.
“I expect any nominee to likewise follow the Ginsburg Standard,” he continued.
Grassley said he will make sure the confirmation process is as fair and transparent as he can manage, and that he is confident in all of the president’s potential nominees for the position.
