Justice Elena Kagan Pays Tribute to Lindsey Graham at Congressional Hearing

Justice Elena Kagan expressed condolences Tuesday on behalf of the Supreme Court to a congressional committee on the death of Senator Lindsey Graham.She also took time to offer her own comments about her interactions with Graham. “I didn’t get many Republican votes when I was confirmed to the Supreme Court and that’s the usual state of things today,” Justice Kagan told a House Appropriations subcommittee. “And one would not expect such a cross-party, if you will, vote, certainly somebody from such a deep-red or deep-blue state, and yet, Senator Graham voted for me,” Justice Kagan added.Justice Kagan said that Graham took the time to get to know her during a long conversation in his office before her confirmation hearing. She added that he had a great knowledge about her record as solicitor general under President Obama, including various terrorism issues that the office dealt with.She said Graham was funny and helped her appear to have a sense of humor during her 2010 confirmation hearing. During Graham’s round of questioning at a nomination hearing, the two exchanged light-hearted comments and even a few jokes.Justice Kagan recounted how Graham asked her what she was doing on Christmas Day. “Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant,” Justice Kagan responded to laughter.“Great answer, great answer,” Graham reacted.Graham said he would have picked somebody different if the choice was up to him, but said Justice Kagan was qualified for the job. He was the only Republican to join the Democratic majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance her nomination.“Many people said to me afterwards, that exchange with Senator Graham was when my confirmation was sealed,” Justice Kagan told the committee. “So I want to express my gratitude towards him, not only for his support, but for approaching the confirmation process with the kind of seriousness that he did and the kind of respect he did,” Justice Kagan added.Justice Kagan was joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill Tuesday to request more security funding for members of the Supreme Court due to a growing number of threats of violence the justices face.Graham died Saturday from a tear in his aorta.

Justice Elena Kagan Pays Tribute to Lindsey Graham at Congressional Hearing

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