OFFERS FULL ENDORSEMENT
After a meeting in his D.C. offices today, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan says he will support Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
His endorsement was made following an hour-long chat between Sullivan and Kavanaugh, which highlighted a number of national and Alaska-focused legal issues. Here’s what Sullivan said about the meeting:
“Today, I met with Judge Kavanaugh to discuss at length and great depth his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and his viewpoint on a variety of national and Alaska-focused legal issues. The meeting was extremely constructive and an important opportunity for Judge Kavanaugh to reaffirm what I’ve known about him for some time. He is someone who will interpret the law and Constitution as written, he holds a healthy skepticism regarding the expansive power of federal agencies, he is a strong protector of the Second Amendment, and he has the values, temperament and humility I believe Alaskans will value on the Supreme Court. I also took the opportunity to familiarize Judge Kavanaugh on a number of critical Alaska-focused federal laws, such as ANILCA, ANCSA and the new ANWR law. I think Judge Kavanaugh meets the qualifications we should be looking for and I plan on supporting him as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.”
Congressman Don Young also issued a statement today. He will not be part of the confirmation process, as that is a Senate function, but urged a speedy process:
“While I am a Member of the U.S. House and Constitutionally do not have the authority to vote on Supreme Court Justices, the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy presents our judicial system with a critical vacancy. An empty seat on the Supreme Court needs to be filled expediently particularly as the Court will be considering important cases, like that of Alaskan John Sturgeon.”