The big money behind Trump’s Supreme Court pick
Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel Carrie Severino on support of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.
As Republicans gear up for a fight over President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, a conservative political group is pouring money into ad campaigns to ensure that he’s confirmed before midterm elections.
The Judicial Crisis Network announced on Tuesday that it had funneled $1.4 million into cable and digital advertisements in Alabama, Indiana, North Dakota and West Virginia to pressure Democratic senators in densely red states to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.
“I don’t see how you can vote for Gorsuch, and then look at Brett Kavanaugh and not say, ‘This is someone in the same line,’” Judicial Crisis Network policy director Carrie Severino said during a FOX Business interview with Stuart Varney. “He has even more experience on the bench, and even more of a reputation in legal circles, than Justice Gorsuch did.”
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., all voted in April to confirm Trump’s previous Supreme Court pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissenting with the majority of their party.
Democrats, however, have expressed concern that Kavanaugh could overturn the 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. Kennedy upheld abortion rights during his tenure on the top court, but Trump has promised to nominate justices who will overturn Roe. Kavanaugh has ties to the Federalist Society, a staunchly conservative group.
The Judicial Crisis Network previously ran another ad, which it said cost seven figures, following Kennedy’s retirement announcement in June.
“The bottom of this, we want the kind of justice that Judge Kavanaugh described: Someone who’s faithful to the law, someone who’s faithful to the Constitution,” Severino said. “This isn’t about a laundry-list of issues.”