Rand Paul announces support for Brett Kavanaugh

Says private discussions and Kavanaugh's strong record eased his concerns about the 4th Amendment

This morning, Senator Rand Paul's office released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who last week met with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, released the following statement concerning Judge Kavanaugh's nomination:

"After meeting Judge Kavanaugh and reviewing his record, I have decided to support his nomination.

"No one will ever completely agree with a nominee (unless, of course, you are the nominee). Each nominee, however, must be judged on the totality of their views, character, and opinions.

"I have expressed my concern over Judge Kavanaugh's record on warrantless bulk collection of data and how that might apply to very important privacy cases before the Supreme Court.

"In reviewing his record on other privacy cases like Jones, and through my conversation with him, I have hope that in light of the new precedent in Carpenter v. United States, Judge Kavanaugh will be more open to a Fourth Amendment that protects digital records and property.

"Of course, my vote is not a single-issue vote, and much of my reading and conversation has been in trying to figure out exactly how good Judge Kavanaugh will be on other issues before the Court.

"My conversation with Judge Kavanaugh reinforces my belief that he will evaluate cases before the Supreme Court from a textual and originalist point of view.

"I believe he will carefully adhere to the Constitution and will take his job to protect individual liberty seriously.

"On issues such as property rights and reining in the administrative state, Judge Kavanaugh has a strong record and showed a deep commitment during our meeting. His views on due process and mens rea show a thoughtful approach to the law and its applications. His views on war powers and separation of powers are encouraging.

"Finally, his strong defenses of the First and Second Amendments in landmark cases show someone who isn't afraid to challenge the status quo and will fight with backbone. Judge Kavanaugh will have my support and my vote to confirm him to the Supreme Court."

RELATED: Ilya Shapiro Makes the Libertarian Case for Brett Kavanaugh

Comments

[Kazinski]

Rand was the only real wild card. Unless the NY Times and AP get paydirt in their FOIA request for Kavanaugh's wife's emails, then it looks like a slam dunk. It shows how desperate they are to get anything.

[regexp]

Rand was the only real wild card.

Rand was never a wild card. He pulls this stunt every time and then promptly falls into line like a good little Republican.

[Sarcastr0]

I haven't followed Paul on previous nominations, but I can confirm that this exact move is what liberal twitter was assuming from the beginning.

[OtisAH]

He pulled the same stunt on Pompeo to State, healthcare repeal, and the tax cut. Any time Rand Paul's principles may conflict with his support, his support always wins out. He's the "libertarian" Marco Rubio.

[bernard11]

Yes.

It's nothing but a play for media attention, and a chance to demonstrate to those who aren't really watching what a thoughtful independent guy he is.

Collins likes to do this also.

[OtisAH]

"Each nominee, however, must be judged on the totality of their views, character, and opinions."

That word "each" just doesn't mean what it used to.

[ducksalad]

Yeah, judges should be evaluated on "the totality of their view, character, and opinions." For senators, on the other hand, we need to ignore all three and just focus on how they vote. Rand Paul caved again and that's all we need to know about him.

[WJack]

Time out to be grateful Hillary lost!