Published
August 13, 2018
Earlier this summer, President Trump was called upon to exercise one of the most important responsibilities of the American presidency: nominating a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. His decision would have implications for virtually every institution and aspect of our society, including the future of our free enterprise system. Facing this monumental task, the president hit a home run by nominating Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh. With senators returning to work this week, it’s now up to them to finish the job and confirm this outstanding nominee so that he can get to work.
The American business community has always had a major stake in the affairs of our nation’s highest court. Multiple times per year, matters of critical, precedent-setting importance to our nation’s job creators come before the Supreme Court, and the outcomes of those decisions have a lasting impact on the way businesses operate, invest, hire, provide benefits to employees, and much more.
For this reason, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Litigation Center regularly advocates cases in front of the Supreme Court. This includes fighting frivolous lawsuits, bad regulations, and faulty lower court rulings. It also includes defending free enterprise, free speech, and the rights of business owners. Through our decades of experience before the Court, we’ve found that the most important qualities in a justice are his or her fairness and consideration of the principles of limited government enshrined in our Constitution.
Legal professionals of all political persuasions who have worked with Judge Kavanaugh over the years have described him as an accomplished, fair, and thoughtful jurist who will make an excellent addition to our nation’s highest court. In the Chamber’s view, he takes seriously the interests and legal arguments on all sides of a case. Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly demonstrated that he treats all who come before him seeking justice with the utmost dignity and respect that every party in our legal system deserves.
This is why the Chamber fully supports Judge Kavanaugh and has deemed his confirmation a “key vote” that will be factored into our grading of lawmakers this year. Rather than play political games with such a critical matter, senators should give him a fair hearing and then swiftly move to confirm him as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. Once they do, Judge Kavanaugh can get to work on the many pressing legal issues that will come before the Court.
About the authors
Thomas J. Donohue
Thomas J. Donohue is advisor and former chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
