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GOP Asks Kagan to Recuse
Herself on any Supreme Court Case Involving ObamaCare Part Three of Three By Dave Andrusko
The twin controversies over Elena Kagan and the constitutionality of ObamaCare have come together the week before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the Solicitor General's Supreme Court nomination. Republicans are making what would appear to be commonsensical request of Kagan, who has not yet responded. She's already said "she'll recuse herself from participating in 11 cases on which she represented the government in her current job as Solicitor General," according to the Wall Street Journal, but what about if a case challenging ObamaCare reaches the High Court? Republicans want her to clearly say she will not participate, should she be confirmed. "It is all but inconceivable that, when the states challenged the new health care law in March 2010, Kagan did not participate as counsel or adviser to the case's merits at that time," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. President Obama announced Kagan's nomination on May 10. The dispute over the health care law "will almost certainly make its way to the Supreme Court," Sessions said. "If confirmed, Ms. Kagan would be the decisive vote, perhaps, in that case. Thus, it's critical that we know prior to voting on the nomination whether, as solicitor general, she participated in administration discussions about that." In a letter sent Tuesday, the seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee "posed 13 questions, most of them focusing on a lawsuit 20 states are pursing in federal court in Pensacola, Fla. against the health care legislation," according the Politico.com. "The GOP letter only makes specific mention of the Florida-based lawsuit and does not reference a separate case being pursued by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which passed a law refusing to comply with the federal legislation. Arguments were held in that case earlier this month and it may be on a faster-track than the case Republicans cited Tuesday." Please send all of your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are now following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha. |
