04 May 2006 Black Activists Demand Fair Treatment for Judicial Nominees; Kavanaugh Nomination Targeted by Senate Obstructionists

As the U.S. Senate resumes consideration of judicial nominations, members of the black leadership network Project 21 call upon senators to refrain from engaging in the obstructionist tactics that have hindered the fair and timely consideration of past nominees.

“There was a time when our elected representatives worked in the best interests of America and her citizens,” said Project 21 chairman Mychal Massie.  “Today, it is unambiguously apparent that liberal members of the U.S. Senate do not feel bound to such service.  They now seem to think they are there to disrupt, obstruct and destroy the good names of qualified individuals.”

On May 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  Kavanaugh was nominated to the seat in 2003, and had a hearing before the Committee in 2004.  He has not yet received a vote on his nomination by the Committee.

While some senators have hinted they may try to prolong the process in the Senate Judiciary Committee by demanding another hearing on Kavanaugh, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has already threatened to obstruct the nomination if it is passed out of Committee for a confirmation vote by the full Senate.  When asked recently by reporters about the possibility of a filibuster of the Kavanaugh nomination, Reid said: “The answer is yes, a possible filibuster, of course.”

“Senate liberals seem at their most comfortable slinging mud and trying to undermine the process of government.  They remain devoid of ideas, but full of lies and misrepresentations,” said Project 21’s Massie.

Kavanaugh currently serves as the staff secretary for the President, where he oversees the flow of documents in the White House.  He is a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and two appellate court judges.  He has held several positions within the federal government during his legal career, as well as a brief stint in private practice, and has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and many lower courts.

Former D.C. Bar president Mark H. Touhey III says Kavanaugh is “exceptionally well qualified” to serve on the D.C. Circuit.

Project 21 takes no position on the confirmation of any particular judicial nominee, but believes that it is in the best interest of the United States that judicial vacancies are filled with appropriate speed.

For more information, contact David Almasi or Peyton Knight at (202) 507-6398 or [email protected], or visit Project 21’s website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html. New Visions Commentaries can be found at https://nationalcenter.org/P21NewVisions.html.