Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh stated that his judicial philosophy is “straightforward.” A judge “must interpret the law, not make it.” Prior to the announcement of his nomination, Judge Kavanaugh gave a speech about his view on the Constitution.

In his speech, “From the Bench: The Constitutional Statesmanship of Chief Justice William Rehnquist” that Kavanaugh presented for the 2017 Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute about Chief Justice Rehnquist, he said Rehnquist was “his first judicial hero.” Kavanaugh’s lecture focused on the impact that Rehnquist had on the Supreme Court, noting that the “Court unquestionably changed and became more an institution of law, where its power is to interpret and to apply the law as writing, informed by historical practice, not be its own person and policy predilections.”

Before discussing what he admired about Rehnquist, Judge Kavanaugh shared his judicial philosophy:

“It is sometimes said that the Constitution is a document of majestic generalities. I view it differently. As I see it, the Constitution is primarily a document of majestic specificity, and those specific words have meaning. Absent constitutional amendment, those words continue to bind us as judges, legislators, and executive officials.”

As to who has authority to amend the Constitution, Judge Kavanaugh said: “The Constitution quite specifically tells us that the people decide through their elected representatives. An amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of both houses of Congress as well as three-quarters of the states.”

Kavanaugh’s nomination is a reminder that the most powerful branches of government are the furthest removed from our democratic process and not the system America’s Founders envisioned.

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