Sen. Dan Sullivan was among the first senators to meet with the Trump nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Amy Coney Barrett is making the rounds to meet with senators who will be sitting in judgment of her confirmation. Hearings in the Senate begin Oct. 12.
Sullivan spent 45 minutes with the judge and came away impressed with her as “a thoughtful and intelligent jurist with many credentials to her name. Some of the topics we covered right at the outset — the role of a judge on the federal judiciary … it’s the role of a judge to interpret the law, not to legislate from the bench. I think she was in full agreement on that.”
Sullivan said their discussion focused on Alaska-specific topics, and the unique aspects of Alaska, including the complex laws surrounding the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and ANILCA, the Trans Alaska Pipeline Act, the Tax Act of 2017, which has a section on the opening of ANWR.
“We went into depth about how federal courts often misinterpret these very important laws for our state, which could do huge damage to Alaska. I told her to keep an eye on these kinds of cases, and then we went into depth on the Sturgeon vs. Frost case. This is an example of lower courts, in this case, the Ninth Circuit, really misinterpreting federal law. Fortunately, the Supreme Court, in two different opinions, finally got ANILCA and Alaska right in the Sturgeon case. I respectfully gave her this case and asked her to read it,” Sullivan said.
“We talked a lot about the Second Amendment. She is a strong, strong defender of the Second Amendment,” – Sen. Dan Sullivan
“We had a deep discussion also on the issue of the power and limitations of federal agencies, administrative agencies. She had written an opinion on limiting the power of the Waters of the United States (Rule) that I thought was very important, and we had a long discussion on that as well. We covered other topics as well. But I would say I’m certainly looking forward to seeing more of her views as the Judiciary Committee hearings kick into gear. But, overall, it was an important meeting today. I think she came away with a sense of just how important and unique many of the federal laws that come before the U. S. Supreme Court relate to Alaska, and that was my goal today.”
John Roberts hardest hit. Hope you enjoyed your power for 8 years.
Senator Sullivan mentions a well written dissenting opinion in a Second amendment case she wrote. A link to that opinion here would save the Senator’s staff some work.
Let’s hope that Senator Dan doesn’t go wobblely on her nomination like he did on Pebble. He was for natural resource development before he was against it.
The Judiciary is the issue here. Focus should be on the nominee’s judicial philosophy and track record from the bench. After meeting with Judge Kavanaugh, Senator Sullivan was steadfast in his support throughout the contentious confirmation process and final vote.
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