Senate Democrats labeled President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as the “next Scott Pruitt” on Tuesday, arguing he will damage America’s air and water if he’s confirmed to the high court.
It’s the latest attack against Mr. Trump’s nominee after many critics focused on Judge Kavanaugh’s rulings against the Affordable Care Act and an immigrant minor who sought an abortion while in federal custody, arguing those decisions suggest he’s hostile toward access to health care.
But on Capitol Hill the attention shifted Tuesday to his views on the environment. Democratic senators claimed Judge Kavanaugh sided with polluters, oil drillers and hazardous chemical manufacturers during his 12 years on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
In several cases dating back to 2012, Judge Kavanaugh ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act and its Clean Power Plan, often criticizing the actions of the agency for exceeding its statutory authority.
“This list of anti-environment, anti-climate decisions is enough to make Scott Pruitt jealous,” said Sen. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat.
The comparison to Mr. Pruitt comes after the former Oklahoma attorney general sued the EPA more than a dozen times and later went on to lead the department under Mr. Trump, rolling back the prior administration’s regulations on pesticides, renewable fuel standards, lead paint and others.
Some of those legal challenges ended up before Judge Kavanaugh while he sat on the federal appeals court in D.C., where he occasionally sided with Mr. Pruitt.
“If confirmed on the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh can finish the work Scott Pruitt started,” said Sen. Tom Carper, Delaware Democrat.
Liberal advocacy groups were able to bring to light a series of personal finance and extravagance scandals against Mr. Pruitt and he resigned earlier this month.
The Democrats are hoping the same pressure will build against Judge Kavanaugh.
But Justin Walker, who clerked for Judge Kavanaugh, said his former boss applies the law without bias for or against any particular outcome — including environment issues.
“He has often written opinions in favor of environmental groups and the EPA, sometimes over the dissent of Republican-appointed colleagues,” Mr. Walker told The Washington Times. “When he has ruled against the EPA’s invalid regulations, he has repeatedly been vindicated by the Supreme Court.”
Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said the Democrats have become desperate in their struggle for a message to discredit Judge Kavanaugh.
“The more people see of Judge Kavanaugh, the more they like him,” Mr. Thune said Tuesday.
It’s quite possible not all Democrats will view the comparison of Judge Kavanaugh’s record on climate issues to that of Mr. Pruitt’s as a complete veto.
Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, for example, voted to confirm Mr. Pruitt as head of the EPA and also pushed legislation to roll back the Clean Power Plan, among other Obama-era regulations damaging to West Virginia’s mining interests.
He is one of three Democratic senators who backed Mr. Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Republicans are hoping he does the same for Judge Kavanaugh.
Mr. Manchin signaled he wouldn’t simply fall in line and oppose the nominee, as Democratic leaders in the Senate are urging red state Democrats to do.
“I’ll be 71 years old in August, you’re going to whip me? Kiss my you-know-what,” Mr. Manchin told Politico last week, referring to his party’s leadership whipping votes.
Like Mr. Manchin, Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota are facing re-election in states Mr. Trump won overwhelmingly in 2016. Both of them also backed Justice Gorsuch’s confirmation.
“Just as I did when Merrick Garland and Neil Gorsuch were nominated, I will evaluate Judge Kavanaugh’s record, legal qualifications, judicial philosophy and particularly, his views on healthcare,” Mr. Manchin said in a statement.
On Monday, he created a new email address specifically for his constituents to contact him directly about their concerns surrounding Judge Kavanaugh’s record.
But the pressure on Mr. Manchin, Mr. Donnelly, Ms. Heitkamp and Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who came to Washington after Justice Gorsuch’s confirmation battle, continued to build this week as a conservative advocacy group launched its third round of advertisements urging them to back Judge Kavanaugh.
The conservative Judiciary Crisis Network has spent nearly $4 million defending Judge Kavanaugh’s record and calling on red state Democrats to confirm the experienced and well-qualified nominee.
Meanwhile, Judge Kavanaugh has been making rounds on Capitol Hill since he was confirmed last week, meeting with nearly a dozen Republican senators in just five days.
It’s likely he’ll also sit down with red state Democrats as Justice Gorsuch did during his confirmation process, though a spokesperson for Judge Kavanaugh did not respond to a request for comment about when those meetings might occur.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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