Litigation

Obama Nominee Starts Rounds on Capitol Hill

By Peter Hardin

UPDATE: Elena Kagan began making the rounds of courtesy calls on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

She met with the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell warned that Kagan must address concerns that she would be a “rubber stamp” for President Barack Obama’s policies, the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, the official White House blog offers a get-acquainted interview with Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama’s newest Supreme Court nominee, but don’t expect to learn anything that would make headline news.

The short video sketches some of the highlights of Kagan’s life, including her childhood in New York City and career stints in teaching and government, where she has served in all three branches.

You won’t find any questions about controversial issues posed to Kagan in the video. But she displays a sense of humor when she notes about her current title, “Some people think it’s the people who put the labels on the cigarette packages.” In reality, that’s the office of the Surgeon General, she notes.

Launching topical web sites in advance of confirmation hearings were the Democratic National Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans (thanks to The Blog of Legal Times for the tip). The latter has a new YouTube channel called RepublicanSCOTUS.

To keep track of the news about the nomination process, visit Justice at Stake’s “Replacing Justice Stevens” page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).