Day 2 for Kagan Capitol Hill Tour of Senators
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan returned to Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with senators who are key to her confirmation.
The solicitor general, preparing for meetings with Republicans and Democrats, including one who has opposed her in the past, said she's beginning to get accustomed to the delicate ritual of closely watched courtesy calls she must make in the run-up to her summer confirmation hearings.
Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, her first visit of the day, asked Kagan whether she's "getting used to this little routine."
"Just barely," Kagan responded with a smile.
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Kagan, 50, called on eight senators Wednesday and plans meetings with another seven today. That includes one former foe, Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who as a Republican voted last year against confirming her to her current post.
Kerry said he was "very proud" of Kagan, adding that she has "quite a road yet to travel."
Later, Democratic Senator Arlen Specter called Kagan "very forthcoming."
Specter voted against confirming Kagan to her current post as solicitor general because he said she should have answered more questions about how she'd approach cases.
But after meeting with Kagan, Specter says he thinks she'll be willing to respond more openly in her upcoming confirmation hearings.
Specter says Kagan told him she stood by her past criticism of the Supreme Court confirmation process, and her description of it as a "charade" in which nominees stonewall questions.
In the closed-door meetings yesterday and today, Kagan has assured senators that she's up to the job of being a justice, seeking to counter GOP criticism of her lack of experience as a judge or courtroom litigator. President Barack Obama tapped Kagan this week to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
Kagan, a former Harvard Law School dean, defended herself against Republican doubts about her fitness to be a fair justice. She said she'd be "faithful to the law," according to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who said he asked her whether she could be impartial given that she's identified with "liberal" positions and has clerked for two judges he called "activist."
Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel that will hold Kagan's confirmation hearings, said he'd do his best to give her a "fair" hearing, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee chairman, said he'd guarantee a process where senators could ask "all relevant questions."
Republicans are questioning whether Kagan can be impartial in light of her political views and current position on Obama's team. And they have harshly criticized her decision while at Harvard to bar military recruiters from campus because she disagreed with the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay soldiers.
GOP senators say they want to see documents from her time serving in Bill Clinton's White House to get a better understanding of her fitness for the Supreme Court.
"I think all the documents that are producible should be produced," Sessions said. "The American people are entitled to know what kind of positions she took, and what kind of issues she was involved with during her past public service."
Democrats praise Kagan as a highly qualified, sharp legal mind who will bring an important perspective from outside the federal bench to the job of justice.
"She brings to this court that kind of intellect and those values that can make a positive difference for the future of the court," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
More on Elena Kagan's nomination:
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More People Liked Sotomayor than Elena Kagan, Poll Finds
Elena Kagan White House "Interview" Riles Reporters
Elena Kagan Takes Center Stage in 2010 Campaign Battles
Washington Unplugged: Kagan Riles Both Sides of the Aisle
Chip Reid: Why Kagan? In A Word: "Leadership"
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