By Jack Parkos | United States

On Monday night, President Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh as his nomination to replace Justice Kennedy. Now he needs Senate approval to see if we will join the Supreme Court. People across the political spectrum have mixed opinions on this issue. Most Republicans are happy to have a conservative in the court.

The Supreme Court has immense power when it comes to Constitutional interpretation. Brett Kavanaugh has the potential to change the country for better or worse. His views will be valuable predictors for the precedent he may set.

There are several issues people have been talked about a lot lately. Abortion has been a big one. Although Trump has claimed he hasn’t brought abortion up with Kavanaugh, he did promise to only nominate only pro-lifers. Both sides of the aisle are talking about it, arguing about whether he should and will do it or not.

This begs the question: what will Kavanaugh do? Would he support overturning Roe V. Wade? It’s hard to tell. Kavanaugh has been very vague on his abortion stance. In 2006 he claimed that abortion has already been decided by the Supreme Court. However, Last October, Kavanaugh dissented in a ruling that allowed a teenage undocumented immigrant to leave custody to receive an abortion. He has supported other abortion restrictions as well. At this point, it is very hard to tell if he would overturn Roe V. Wade. He has kept his personal stance on abortion private.

The left has been very critical of Trump’s pick, though based on their past record, they tend to get mad at whatever Trump does. They aren’t the only ones criticizing though, Representative Justin Amash is disappointed as well. Amash tweeted,

Kavanaugh is not another Gorsuch—not even close. Disappointing pick, particularly with respect to his #4thAmendment record. Future decisions on the constitutionality of government surveillance of Americans will be huge. We can’t afford a rubber stamp for the executive branch.

What is frightening is that Kavanaugh has a history of supporting warrantless surveillance. Here are some statements from Kavanaugh in November 2015 when he rejected to hear a case on the NSA unwarranted phone collection.

the Government’s metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the Fourth Amendment. In my view, that critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program. He already supported unwarranted wiretapping done by the NSA. It’s fair to say if there is a case regarding the 4th Amendment, Kavanaugh will take the more authoritarian approach.

Many also are talking about healthcare. In 2011, Brett Kavanaugh did oppose the upholding of the individual mandate under Obamacare. He said that the mandate was “a law that is unprecedented on the federal level in American history,” stating that the Taxing Clause “has not traditionally authorized a legal prohibition or mandate.” Conservatives and Libertarians should be very pleased with his stance on the individual mandate.

Kavanaugh also opposed the ruling in Massachusetts vs the EPA. Which ruled that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gasses based of the “Clean Air Act of 1963”, although the act did not specifically state carbon dioxide could be regulated under this act. The court gave the EPA this authority. Kavanaugh dissented this, believing the EPA went beyond its authority. He has stated he is concerned with Climate Change, but that he knows it’s not a courts job to regulate it. Kavanaugh seems to strongly believe in the role of the court in America.

If Kavanaugh gets Senate approval, we could see a change in the court’s rulings. Some for better some for worse. What we need is for him to protect the Constitution and preserve our liberties.

To support 71 Republic, please donate to our Patreon, which you can find here.