In his 2018 confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was asked by Sen.
Mike Lee (R–Utah) whether or not he considered himself to be an originalist. “Originalism refers to basically textualism applied in the constitutional sphere, with an eye toward identifying the original public meaning of the constitutional text at issue,” Lee observed. So “for our purposes today, you’re an originalist?” “That’s correct,” Kavanaugh promptly replied.
Unfortunately for fans of originalism, Kavanaugh flunked his first big test as an originalist on the Supreme Court.
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