As governor of a state that sent six electoral votes to President Trump, I am excited that Trump continues to deliver on his promise to nominate jurists of impeccable quality to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Because he has kept that promise to Kansas and the rest of the country, I was proud to join with 31 other governors to pen a letter encouraging the Senate to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
As someone who, like most Americans, has grown tired of activist judges writing the law rather than interpreting it, I could not be more thrilled that President Trump selected Judge Kavanaugh for this important position.
Throughout his judicial career, Judge Kavanaugh has shown a commitment to interpret the Constitution as written. He knows that the role of the court is to interpret the law, not to create it. In my eyes, these are vital qualities in a Supreme Court Justice.
It’s not only his judicial philosophy which qualifies Judge Kavanaugh to serve on our nation’s highest court. His distinguished judicial record and impeccable credentials have enshrined him as one of the brightest legal minds of our time.
After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale, he clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court, Judge Walter Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He went on to become a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, an associate in the Office of Independent Counsel Ken Starr and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
He later served President George W. Bush as associate counsel, senior associate counsel and assistant to the president and staff secretary. This all came before he was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2006.
His qualifications cannot be questioned.
If confirmed, Judge Kavanaugh will follow and uphold the law, interpreting the Constitution as the Founding Fathers intended. The Supreme Court has adopted Judge Kavanaugh’s opinions an impressive 13 times and reversed his position only once. His roughly 300 written opinions continue to be cited by judges across the country. He has proven time and again that he is a fair jurist and an unbiased interpreter of the law.
Judge Kavanaugh’s respect for people threatened by government overreach has demonstrated itself on numerous occasions, and he has often rejected attempts by the federal government to impose onerous regulations on private citizens. He is the judge the American people want and need.
Judge Kavanaugh is the best of the best — someone who builds consensus and decides cases based on the law, not personal policy preferences. Like his fellow classmate and clerk for Justice Kennedy, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Judge Kavanaugh will validate our faith in him to carry out the duties of Associate Supreme Court Justice.
President Trump could not have made a better choice to succeed Justice Kennedy. I urge the United States Senate to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh without delay. I know he will be a fair and honest justice worthy of the honor bestowed upon him.
Jeff Colyer is the governor of Kansas.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.
