The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for the second day in a row yesterday. But we learned even more from the “committee confidential” documents that Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) forced the committee to release yesterday morning than we did from the answers Kavanaugh provided in the hearing. Here’s what we found out:
Kavanaugh Pushed Policies To Allow Religion To Supercede LGBTQ Non-Discrimination Protections
Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked an important question: She noted that Kavanaugh was the point person for George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative, a program that allowed religious organizations to receive taxpayer money and discriminate against who they hire and serve. Feinstein asked about Kavanaugh’s involvement in pushing policies that allowed taxpayer-funded discrimination in hiring against LGBTQ employees. Kavanaugh dodged the question, saying, “I don’t recall the specifics.”
The idea that he doesn’t remember anything about this is highly unlikely. First, allowing taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate in hiring was a key component of the faith-based initiative. Second, Kavanaugh didn’t just happen to be the point person for the faith-based initiative, he asked to be the point person because of his background and interest in the issue. He was invested in this issue and likely hasn’t forgotten its key moments. Third, Feinstein’s question was focused on an email exchange about the Bush administration’s efforts to tamp down a huge controversy that Kavanaugh should have remembered.