| Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination | |
|---|---|
 Kagan with President Obama and then-Vice PresidentJoe Biden at the announcement of the nomination in theEast Room of theWhite House | |
| Nominee | Elena Kagan |
| Nominated by | Barack Obama (president of the United States) |
| Succeeding | John Paul Stevens (associate justice) |
| Date nominated | May 10, 2010 |
| Date confirmed | August 5, 2010 |
| Outcome | Approved by theU.S. Senate |
| Vote of theSenate Judiciary Committee | |
| Votes in favor | 13 |
| Votes against | 6 |
| Result | Reported favorably |
| Senate confirmation vote | |
| Votes in favor | 63 |
| Votes against | 37 |
| Result | Confirmed |
On May 10, 2010,PresidentBarack Obama announced his selection ofElena Kagan forAssociate Justice of theSupreme Court of the United States, to replace retiring JusticeJohn Paul Stevens. Kagan's nomination was confirmed by a 63–37 vote of theUnited States Senate on August 5, 2010. When nominated, Kagan wasSolicitor General of the United States, a position to which Obama had appointed her in March 2009. Kagan was the first Supreme Court nominee sinceSandra Day O'Connor in 1981 tonot be a sittingcircuit court judge and the most recent such nominee as of 2023. She was the first Supreme Court nominee sinceWilliam Rehnquist andLewis F. Powell Jr. in 1971[note 1] to not be a sitting judge on any court.
On April 9, 2010,John Paul Stevens announced that he would retire from theSupreme Court on June 29, at the start of Court's summer 2010 recess. He had served as anassociate justice for 34 years.[1] Those considered front-runners for the nomination by press reports, in addition to Elena Kagan, wereDiane Wood andMerrick Garland.[2] Kagan had also been a finalist for the Court vacancy one year earlier, when JusticeSonia Sotomayor wasselected to succeed the retiringDavid Souter.[3]
PresidentBarack Obama announced the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court on May 10, 2010.[3] He praised Kagan as a "consensus builder", and said that she "is widely regarded as one of the nation's foremost legal minds".[4] The nomination was formally received by theSenate that same day, and was subsequently referred to theJudiciary Committee.[5]
In the Senate, Kagan's nomination was received positively by mostDemocrats. Judiciary Committee chairmanPatrick Leahy applauded Kagan's experience and qualifications. In doing so, he called attention to her work in academia and with the federal government – noting that both were outside the so-called "judicial monastery" from which most contemporary justices have come. The last justices to join the Court without any prior judicial experience had beenLewis Powell andWilliam Rehnquist, both appointed by PresidentRichard Nixon in 1972.[6]
Republicans were quick to express criticism, particularly over her handling of military recruiters during her time asDean of Harvard Law School, as well as her work as a law clerk for the late JusticeThurgood Marshall, whom many of them deemed a liberal activist.[7] Even so, minority whipJon Kyl, who supported Kagan's nominations for solicitor general (a "temporary political appointment") but was reticent to support her associate justice (a "lifetime appointment"),[6] all but ruled out using afilibuster to block a final Senate floor vote on the nomination, tellingCBS'sFace the Nation, "The filibuster should be relegated to extreme circumstances, and I don't think Elena Kagan represents that."[8] Opposition to Kagan among Senate Republicans was not universal however. A few expressed support for her, includingLindsey Graham,Susan Collins andRichard Lugar.[9]
The deans of over one-third of the country's law schools, 69 people in total, endorsed Elena Kagan's nomination in anopen letter in early June. The letter lauded what it considered her coalition-building skills and "understanding of both doctrine and policy" as well as her written record of legal analysis.[10]
TheNational Rifle Association of America announced its opposition to Kagan, and stated that it would score the vote on her confirmation, meaning that Senators who vote in favor of Kagan would receive a lower rating from the organization.[11] At the same time, theBrady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence announced its support for Kagan's nomination.[12]
Kagan's Confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on June 28, 2010.[13] From the 28th through the 30th, Kagan underwent two rounds of questioning by each member of the committee.Several witnesses were called to give testimony before the Judiciary Committee at the hearings.[14] These witnesses included Kim Askew andWilliam J. Kayatta, Jr. of theAmerican Bar Association.[14] The Democratic members of the committee called witnesses that included:[14]
Republican members of the committee called the following witnesses:[14]
After the completion of testimony, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee successfully delayed a vote on forwarding the nomination to the full Senate for one week.[15] On July 20, the committee voted 13–6 to endorse and forward the nomination, with only one Republican,Lindsey Graham, voting in the affirmative.[16] To date she is the last nominee to the Supreme Court to have a Bipartisan committee vote.
The Senate confirmedElena Kagan to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court on August 5, 2010, by a vote of 63–37. All Democrats, except forBen Nelson, voted for her, as did IndependentsJoe Lieberman andBernie Sanders, and five Republicans:Susan Collins,Lindsey Graham,Judd Gregg,Richard Lugar, andOlympia Snowe.[17][18]
Kagan's swearing-in ceremony as Associate Justice took place on August 7, 2010, at the White House. Chief JusticeJohn Roberts administered the prescribed constitutional and judicial oaths of office, at which time she became the112th justice (100th associate justice) of the Supreme Court.[20][21]
