Nadat president Obama bekend maakte dat hij Elena Kagan voordraagt als nieuwe rechter voor het hooggerechtshof kwamen er verschillende reacties van verschillende prominente politici.

De fractievoorzitter van de Republikeinen in de Senaat, Mitch McConnell van Kentucky liet in verklaring het volgende weten na de nominatie van Solicitor General Elena Kagan: “I congratulate Elena Kagan on her nomination. As we did with Justice Sotomayor last year, Senate Republicans will treat Ms. Kagan fairly. She has been nominated for a lifetime appointment on the nation’s highest court, and we will carefully review her brief litigation experience, as well as her judgment and her career in academia, both as a professor and as an administrator. Fulfilling our duty to advise and consent on a nomination to this office requires a thorough process, not a rush to judgment. The American people expect judges to apply the Constitution and laws of the United States fairly and impartially—as they are written, not how they could have been written but were not”, aldus McConnell.

Tim Kaine, de voorzitter van de Democratic National Committee (DNC), liet in een verklaring het volgende weten: “Elena Kagan is a trailblazer. Throughout her career as Solicitor General, the Dean of Harvard Law School, Associate Counsel and Deputy Assistant to President Clinton, and clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall – Kagan has impressed all who have encountered her with her legal acumen and her ability to build consensus on important and sometimes contentious issues of law and policy. She has a demonstrated history of listening to all sides of an argument and considering all viewpoints, something that will serve her well as a Supreme Court justice. Elena Kagan has demonstrated excellence in her study and application of the law, and a commitment to public service. And in her many different positions, she has focused on advancing opportunity and combating injustice in keeping with the Constitution and the laws of the United States”, aldus Kaine. Kaine zei verder dat Kagan: “President Obama knew she would serve America with integrity and tenacity. Over the last year, she has exceeded even those expectations and has worked hard to represent the best interests of the American people before the Supreme Court – I have full faith that she would continue to do so as a member of that body.”

De voorzitter van de Republican National Committee (RNC), Michael Steele gaf de volgende verklaring uit: “Over the past year, the American people have been witness to President Obama’s massive expansion of the federal government into our daily lives. To assure the American people, President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, will need to demonstrate that she is committed to upholding the vision of our Founding Fathers, who wrote a Constitution meant to limit the power of government, not expand it. The President has stated repeatedly that he wants a justice who will understand the effects of decisions on the lives of everyday Americans. But what Americans want is a justice who will stay true to the Constitution and defend the rights of all Americans, adhering to the rule of law instead of legislating from the bench”, aldus Steele. Steele gaf verder aan dat de Republikeinen Kagan serieuze en moeilijke vragen zullen stellen over haar uitspraken en standpunten “to ensure the American people can thoroughly and thoughtfully examine Kagan’s qualifications and legal philosophy before she is confirmed to a lifetime appointment”, aldus Steele.