Category: Law 2009-18

Kavanaugh Reaction

I’m quoted in this CBS News commentary by Michael Graham:

“Brett Kavanaugh is basically John Roberts 2.0, a product of the Bush Administration and the conservative legal elite,” says Dan McLaughlin of the conservative “National Review.”
“He’s not the most populist choice, or the most politically provocative. But he’s a serious movement conservative, brilliant, universally well-liked, experienced, and independent-minded, and a devoted critic of the administrative state.”
“If you’re a Federalist Society conservative who wants to win the long-term arguments about how law is made, Brett Kavanaugh is a great choice,” McLaughlin said.

and this Caleb Howe piece from before the choice (I guessed wrong, predicting Judge Raymond Kethledge) – my preferred picks:

“Amy Coney Barrett and Am[u]l Thapar. Trump dipped into the traditional elite Beltway movement conservative high priesthood for Gorsuch, to great effect, and its candidates (Kavanaugh and Kethledge) are highly qualified and solidly conservative. But this time, he needs more than just another smart white man in a dark suit. Barrett and Thapar are DC outsider picks but both brilliant and highly conservative, Thapar as a veteran trial judge, Barrett as a distinguished academic. Barrett would provoke the most outlandish response, and be the best choice for energizing Republicans heading into the midterms.”