Constitutional Accountability Center created this fact sheet based on their Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Will He Be Another Reliable Vote for Big Business? report.
As an appellate judge, Judge Kavanaugh has routinely sided with corporations and employers, and against the government, interest groups, employees, and consumers, even when the latter had the text of the law and precedent on their side.
- He has often done so in dissent, staking out positions that his colleagues—sometimes even conservative colleagues—were unwilling to join, suggesting his pro-corporate bent may be beyond the mainstream.
Based on his record, there is significant reason to worry that Judge Kavanaugh, if he is confirmed, will continue the Supreme Court’s trend toward improperly favoring the interests of big business over all Americans.
- In case after case, Judge Kavanaugh has sided with employers against their employees in National Labor Relations Board appeals—and often he has done so in dissent.
- Judge Kavanaugh has been no friend to employees seeking to enforce workplace protections regarding safety and non-discrimination.
- Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly expressed hostility toward independent agencies, questioning their constitutionality and whether they are sufficiently accountable to the president.
- Judge Kavanaugh has expressed significant hostility toward a decades-old doctrine, Chevron deference, that is a cornerstone of administrative law and has been central to the federal government’s ability to regulate corporations and protect consumers, the environment, workers, and more.
- Judge Kavanaugh has routinely sided with industry over the government’s efforts to protect the environment, while also siding with the government over environmental groups seeking stricter environmental regulations.
- Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly sought to insulate multinational corporations from liability for their misdeeds abroad.
- Judge Kavanaugh has issued a number of opinions that side with corporate interests against regulatory agencies seeking to curb anti-competitive business practices.
Both the White House and media seem to agree that Judge Kavanaugh favors big-business interests over the interests of all Americans.
- A Justice Kavanaugh would likely tilt the Supreme Court solidly toward corporate interests.