Little Talk of Kavanaugh's Views on Chevron, Net Neutrality in Confirmation Hearing's Opener
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., was the only Judiciary Committee member to cite Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's dissent in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's 2017 en banc affirmation of 2015 net neutrality rules in USTelecom v.…
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FCC (see 1705010038) during members' opening statements Tuesday at the nominee's confirmation hearing. Much of focus centered on Republicans and Democrats trading barbs over the amount of documentation provided to committee members on the nominee, with Democrats pushing for a delay to proceedings. Coons mentioned Kavanaugh's USTelecom dissent among a litany of cases from the nominee's D.C. Circuit record that Coons feels are a cause for concern. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., mentioned only general concerns about Kavanaugh's track record on consumer protection issues but is expected to grill the nominee on his USTelecom dissent during a later hearing session (see 1808310045). Kavanaugh's views on federal courts' Chevron deference by courts to agency expertise didn't come up during opening statements but are expected to be an issue of interest during questioning. Kavanaugh didn't refer to his USTelecom opinion in his opening statement, saying regarding his D.C. Circuit votes, “I am proud of that body of work, and I stand behind it.” A judge “must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law,” he said.