Reid: Republicans who backed Kagan for solicitor general should stick with her

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called on Republicans
who supported Elena Kagan’s nomination for solicitor general to also back her
bid for the Supreme Court.

Reid (D-Nev.) declared Kagan is a good replacement for
retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, despite reservations of some liberals
who worry about her lack of a judicial record and advocacy for a compromise on
partial-birth abortion during the Clinton administration.

“She has a strong belief that the Supreme Court should be a
forum where the rule of law wins out and where people from every walk of life
can receive a fair hearing,” Reid said Wednesday in a statement after meeting with Kagan. 

{mosads}“Her impressive credentials and understanding of the
real-world impact of the Court’s rulings on Nevadans and all Americans will
serve her well in this role.”

Reid
called on Republicans to back Kagan: “After a fair review of her record and individual
meetings, I believe that Elena Kagan should receive strong bipartisan support
similar to that which she received just last year when she was confirmed as
solicitor general.”

Seven Republicans voted to confirm Kagan as President Barack
Obama’s solicitor general last year.

Kagan then met with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
(Ky.) shortly after 11 a.m.

“I know this will be a challenging process to go through,”
McConnell told Kagan at a brief photo opportunity with the press. “It always is
for a lifetime appointment of this consequence. 

“But I want to assure her and assure the public that we
intend to go through a thorough process,” McConnell said. “It is, however, not
a rush to judgment, and we’ll have an opportunity to examine the solicitor
general’s credentials and evaluate that, of course principally through the
Judiciary Committee.”

Some Republicans question if Kagan’s close ties to the
administration will influence her judgment on the High Court.

McConnell
raised those concerns Wednesday morning during a floor speech before he met
with Kagan.

“In
our constitutional order, justices are not on anybody’s team,” McConnell said.
“They have a very different role to play. As a Supreme Court justice, Ms.
Kagan’s job description would change dramatically. Far from being a member of
the president’s team, she’d suddenly be serving as a check on it.”

Kagan
has been accompanied on her Senate rounds by Phil Schiliro, assistant to the
president for legislative affairs, and White House counsel Robert Bauer.

Kagan
is scheduled to meet with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.)
at noon and Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on Judiciary, at
12:45 p.m.

She
is scheduled to meet with Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) at 2:30
p.m. and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) at 3:15 p.m. She will meet with Sen. Herb
Kohl (D-Wis.) at 4:00 p.m. and possibly with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
later in the day.