Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick has less support than another nominee in modern history. A new Gallup poll shows just 41% would like to see the Senate vote for Brett Kavanaugh. But popular opinion may not matter. The only numbers that count are in the Senate. Gallup reports:
“With Supreme Court confirmations now requiring a simple majority of Senate votes, and Republicans holding a majority in that chamber, Kavanaugh is likely to be confirmed. However, he has little cushion, with Republicans holding a two-seat advantage. It is possible that if public support for his nomination drops, it could tip moderate Republican senators against his confirmation; or if support for his nomination increases, it could convince moderate Democratic senators to back it.”
A Fox News Poll found a 38-32 percentage favorability rating, while a Pew poll found a 41-36 in favor. In other words, his “confirmation rating” is very low.
From fivethirtyeight.com:
- “You may be sensing a pattern. It’s not a huge sample size, but in the last few decades at least, Supreme Court nominees as unpopular as Kavanaugh have never been successfully confirmed.”
Here’s an issue that could further impact public support. A past statement Kavanaugh made may give us insight into how he feels about the Mueller investigation. More specifically, how Kavanaugh might rule on whether the President should be subpoenaed to testify before the special counsel. CNN reports:
“Speaking to a conservative group in 2016, Kavanaugh bluntly said he wanted to “put the final nail” in a 1988 Supreme Court ruling. That decision, known as Morrison v. Olson, upheld the constitutionality of provisions creating an independent counsel under the 1978 Ethics in Government Act — the same statute under which Ken Starr, for whom Kavanaugh worked, investigated President Bill Clinton. The law expired in 1999, when it was replaced by the more modest Justice Department regulation that governs special counsels like Robert Mueller.”
Dems reacting strongly to this video: Schumer says that Kavanaugh must recuse himself from all matters involving Mueller; Blumenthal says it’s “dangerous” he thinks presidents are above the law. Cruz says “history has not been kind” to the ruling Kavanaugh wants to overturn
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 18, 2018
No one should be above the law – especially the president. Yet another reason why Brett Kavanaugh should never sit on the Supreme Court. https://t.co/XrND6y2D1j
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) July 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/JamesKosur/status/1019597927528976385
The most divisive though remains Roe V. Wade. Vice news writes:
“Among the top concerns, according to the Pew poll, are abortion rights. Thirty nine percent of those polled said they wanted Kavanaugh to address his views on abortion during his confirmation hearings, as his nomination could pave the way for overturning Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the U.S.”
President Trump promised that his judges would overturn Roe v. Wade and Brett Kavanaugh praised the dissent arguing that Roe was wrongly decided. If he pledges to respect precedent in his hearing, that pledge does not deserve to be taken seriously.
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 18, 2018