Rand Paul is 'very worried' about Trump's Supreme Court pick, Kavanaugh

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Who is Brett Kavanaugh? 5 things you should know He’s up for a seat on our highest court. Here's what you need to know about Brett Kavanaugh.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he is “very worried” about Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, signaling a potential rocky appointment in the Senate.

“I’m worried about his opinion on the Fourth Amendment,” Paul said in Louisville on Monday. “Kavanaugh ruled that national security trumps privacy ... that worries me.”

Kavanaugh needs a simple majority in the U.S. Senate to get approved. But with Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, facing health issues, the vote could come down to one or two senators.

Paul said his concerns with Kavanaugh lie with opinions he gave based on George Bush-era policies of spying on phone records and other data post-9/11.

Read this: Brett Kavanaugh: Supreme Court nominee straight out of central casting

Overall he said he was “undecided” and added that it could be “a lot worse, it could have been a Clinton appointee.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that he was excited about Kavanaugh's nomination, potentially pitting Kentucky’s two Republican senators against each other.

Paul also put up a fight against CIA Director Gina Haspel during her confirmation hearing, whereas McConnell was for her appointment. Paul later supported Haspel.

McConnell was instrumental in helping achieve the conservative bloc on the Supreme Court when he blocked Obama’s appointment and secured Justice Neil Gorsuch.

But Paul said he believes Gorsuch and Kavanaugh would cancel each other out on issues of privacy.

Paul said he will meet with Kavanaugh in the coming weeks.

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Thomas Novelly: tnovelly@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4465. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tomn.