Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan — nominated to the high court in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama — took a moment on Tuesday to remember the late Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and had only kind words to say about him.
Kagan recalled her confirmation process, noting specifically how strange it was for a Republican to vote in favor of her confirmation when the nominee was chosen by a Democratic president — and vice versa — and said that Graham had approached the process with “seriousness” appropriate for the situation.
WATCH:
Justice Elena Kagan on her 2010 confirmation hearing: “Many people have talked about how funny Senator Graham was…What I remember about that hearing was that somehow Senator Graham made me look funny, which is a harder thing entirely, by asking me what I had done on… pic.twitter.com/U6IFdoGIwN
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Kagan began by offering her condolences to Graham’s family and friends, adding that “the entire Court” wished them well.
“I’ll just say that I didn’t get many Republican votes when I was confirmed to the Supreme Court,” Kagan said with a smile, adding, “And that’s the usual state of things today.”
She went on to say that it was even more striking to see a Republican from a deep red state like South Carolina cast a cross-party vote for a nominee: “And yet, Senator Graham voted for me.”
“I vividly remember, because he was a vivid person, the conversation that we had in his office prior to my hearing,” Kagan said. “It was a long conversation; he took the opportunity to get to know me. He questioned me with great seriousness and great knowledge about my record. … And I still more vividly remember the conversations we had at my hearing itself.”
“In the last day or so, many people have talked about how funny Senator Graham was. I think Al Franken said that he was the funniest man in the Senate,” Kagan continued. “What I remember about that hearing was that somehow Senator Graham made me look funny, which is a harder thing entirely, by asking me what I had done on Christmas. … Many people said to me afterwards that exchange with Senator Graham was the moment my confirmation was sealed.”
Graham mentioned his vote for Kagan during his famous tirade at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing. To Kavanaugh, he said, “When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them.”
He turned his attention back to the Democrats and said, “I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”
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