Today, Rachel B. Tiven, Chief Executive Officer of Lambda Legal, issued the following statement in response to President Trump's decision to nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States:
"Judge Brett Kavanaugh would guarantee 40 more years of Trump's values on the Supreme Court. Like every other judicial nominee who has a seal of approval from the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, Kavanaugh shares Donald Trump's same distorted view of the law. We have good reason to fear that Judge Kavanaugh will abuse his/her power on the Court to protect the wealthy and the powerful while depriving LGBT Americans of our dignity, demeaning our community, and diminishing our status as equal citizens. There is too much at stake to allow Judge Kavanaugh to sit on the Court that, over its history, has decided who can marry, who can vote, and who is equal.
"President Trump wants a Supreme Court justice who looks like him, acts like him, and only protects people like him. Brett Kavanaugh has argued that sitting Presidents should not be subject to civil or criminal charges while in office and that presidents should be able to dismiss any lawyer 'out to get him.' Kavanaugh also thinks that the president does not need to follow the law if he thinks the law is unconstitutional. At this moment in our history, the country not only deserves but needs a judge who will be loyal first and foremost to our Constitution and the rule of law. During his last confirmation hearing, Judge Kavanaugh tried to obfuscate his involvement in the development of the Bush White House's torture policies. We do not believe that Judge Kavanaugh can be trusted with the incredible responsibility of a seat on the Supreme Court at a time when forces are aligned to undermine marriage equality, access to abortion and the Affordable Care Act. A judge with this kind of record should not occupy a seat on the Supreme Court that has been the critical swing vote on LGBT issues, as well as abortion, healthcare, voting rights, and many other important civil rights questions, for decades to come.
"Throughout this nomination process, Lambda Legal will continue to lead the fight to protect LGBT people from those who seek to do us harm -- whether that's in state courts or the highest court in the land. But this fight is also about every American's right to affordable healthcare and reproductive freedom. The President chose Judge Kavanaugh to gut abortion and birth control, to erase coverage for pre-existing conditions, and to undermine marriage equality. This is why Democrats must hold Senate Republicans to the 'McConnell Standard' and oppose any hearing or vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court until after the 2018 mid-term elections. We cannot afford 40 more years of Trump values on this court."
