Ten Democratic Senators have written to Charles Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, demanding the release of documents showing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s environmental record.
Led by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Aug. 24 letter asks for records detailing Kavanaugh’s involvement in environmental matters during his tenure at the White House. He worked for President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006 as staff secretary and White House Counsel.
“We can’t possibly carry out our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on this SCOTUS nominee without a full picture of what’s at stake,” Carper tweeted on Friday.
A battle has been brewing between Democrats and Republicans over whether documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the White House should be released. Of particular interest are the years between 2003 and 2006, which saw key political battles unfold, from abortion rights to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
The Democratic lawmakers highlight a 2015 comment by Kavanaugh noting that his time working at the White House “were the most interesting and formative for me.”
“Without access to Judge Kavanaugh’s environmental records during these ‘formative years’,” the letter states, “the members of this Committee — and the Senate at large — lack the information necessary to responsibly perform our constitutional obligation to advise, and if appropriate, provide consent for the President’s nominee.”
Today I led @EPWDems in demanding documents from Brett Kavanaugh’s time in the White House pertaining to his environmental record. We can’t possibly carry out our constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on this #SCOTUS nominee without a full picture of #WhatsAtStake pic.twitter.com/JnY5T3AlHf
— Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) August 24, 2018
“Any confirmation hearing or vetting process that fails to include and consider Judge Kavanaugh’s complete environmental record,” the letter continues, “is a hearing that would be uninformed, illegitimate, and an abdication of our constitutional duties.”
Other signatories to the letter released Friday include Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
The letter comes after the National Archives warned that hundreds of thousands of documents relating to Kavanaugh’s work prior to becoming a judge, when he served in the George W. Bush White House, will not be fully available until late October — well after Republicans have promised confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh will begin on September 4.
At the end of June, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. Legal experts warned at the time that the news meant “nothing good” for the future of environmental protection and climate action.
Then, on July 9 President Donald Trump named Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to replace Kennedy. Kavanaugh is known to take a more narrow interpretation of what environmental protections the federal government can implement.
He does, however, acknowledge that climate change is happening. Two years ago he told a federal courtroom hearing that “the earth is warming. Humans are contributing.”
“There is a moral imperative. There is a huge policy imperative,” he said at the time.
However, some have warned this won’t necessarily mean he’ll rule in favor of climate action by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Kavanaugh has served on the D.C. Circuit Court of appeals since 2006. This is the federal appellate court which hears the majority of the cases regarding the EPA, meaning there is a decent amount known about where Kavanaugh lands on these issues.
As the Atlantic wrote recently: “He has not been a friend of the agency, though he often appears sympathetic to it.”
Kavanaugh has, for instance, on several occasions during his time on the D.C. Circuit pushed to limit the power of federal agencies that regulate the energy sector and other polluting industries.
On August 10, 25 environmental groups signed a letter opposing Kavanaugh’s nomination, saying he would “undermine efforts” to protect human health and the environment.
Among Kavanuagh’s legal opinions highlighted by lawmakers in their letter this week are previous moves to limit air pollution regulation, “an outward hostility” toward sustainable fuel sources, and his questioning of whether the EPA should have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
In their letter, the Senators described how “In recent years, decisions made by the Supreme Court have had a significant impact on the laws and regulations that effect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the climate we leave to future generations.”
“A cursory review of Judge Kavanaugh’s legal writings,” the lawmakers write, “reveal a jurist who has consistently read statutory and regulatory language in the manner most adverse to environmental protections.”