By Saniya Ghanoui -- June 29, 2010
On the second day of questioning, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said the court should get involved if a president exerts power beyond his authority, but she noted the Supreme Court is not a policymaker.
Congress and the president are in charge of policymaking, Kagan said, but it is up to the court to decide when policies are unconstitutional.
This statement was made in response to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) when he questioned Kagan regarding the role of the courts and executive power.
Kagan took a grilling from Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) concerning her tenure as dean of Harvard Law School in which Kagan temporarily barred military recruiters from using the school. This was in response to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy which bans gays from serving in the military.
"You were punishing the military," Sessions said. "You just started giving them the runaround," he said during his tense 13 minute questioning.
Kagan responded by saying she thought the ban on gays was "unwise and unjust," and that she allowed veterans' organizations to host military recruiters as a way around her temporary ban.
"I conveyed my honor for the military," Kagan said, "and I always tried to make sure that the military had excellent access to our students."
Kagan is expected to win her nomination to the Supreme Court, which will make her the fourth woman to serve on the court and the first time three women have served at the same time. Kagan will join Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor who are currently on the court.
Kagan is the current solicitor general for President Obama and she will replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She is not expected to alter the current makeup of the court, as Stevens has a liberal voting record.
(Photo courtesy: AP Images)
