President Donald Trump on Monday expressed his appreciation to Sen. Rand Paul for his promise to support the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
“Thank you to @RandPaul for your YES on a future great Justice of the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump wrote in a Monday evening tweet. “Your vote means a lot to me, and to everyone who loves our Country!” (RELATED: RAND’S REVEAL: PAUL JUST ANNOUNCED HIS DECISION ON THE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION)
Thank you to @RandPaul for your YES on a future great Justice of the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. Your vote means a lot to me, and to everyone who loves our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2018
Paul’s chief concern with Kavanaugh’s selection had to do with the judge’s opinion in a case involving the National Security Agency’s metadata collection program.
Daily Caller News Foundation Supreme Court reporter Kevin Daley reported:
Civil libertarians of the Paul variety are particularly troubled by a short concurring opinion Kavanaugh wrote in a case called Klayman v. Obama, a challenge to the National Security Agency’s metadata collection program. A federal court in Washington concluded that the program was unconstitutional in 2015. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the court on which Kavanaugh serves, stayed that decision, allowing data collection to continue.
However, on Monday Paul stated that he was satisfied with the “totality” of Kavanaugh’s character and opinions. The Kentucky senator laid out his reasoning in a series of Monday tweets:
I have expressed my concern over Judge Kavanaugh’s record on warrantless bulk collection of data and how that might apply to very important privacy cases before the Supreme Court.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 30, 2018
Of course, my vote is not a single-issue vote, and much of my reading and conversation has been in trying to figure out exactly how good Judge Kavanaugh will be on other issues before the Court.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 30, 2018
On issues such as property rights and reining in the administrative state, Judge Kavanaugh has a strong record and showed a deep commitment during our meeting.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 30, 2018
Finally, his strong defenses of the First and Second Amendments in landmark cases show someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo and will fight with backbone. Judge Kavanaugh will have my support and my vote to confirm him to the Supreme Court.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 30, 2018