Tuesday night President Donald Trump announced that Brett Kavanaugh was his choice for his second appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

This choice was met with wailing and gnashing of teeth by left-leaning pundits and activists claiming this would be the end of a woman’s “choice” to kill her pre-born baby.

It is worth noting this racket would be made by the choice of anyone on President Trump’s list. It was, after all, one of his campaign promises to appoint pro-life Justices. We applaud President Trump’s integrity in keeping that promise.

And while we at the Cornwall Alliance are staunchly pro-life, and seek the flourishing of all human life, including the pre-born, we think it worthwhile to point out Judge Kavanaugh’s other traits that make him a solidly good choice for the Supreme Court.

Judge Kavanaugh has a track record of following the law as it is written. His decisions focus on what our laws and Constitution mean, not what he, or we, or anyone else, would prefer for it to be. We support this view of the separation of powers.  If the law isn’t good, it should be changed by Congress, not an activist judge.

Judge Kavanaugh is a respected voice in the area of administrative law, which concerns the hundreds of agencies that are supposed to apply the laws Congress passes. The EPA is an important example. As a judge on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judge Kavanaugh has time and again proven a willingness to curtail agencies, including the EPA, that try to regulate outside their direct mandate from Congress.

In several important cases, the D.C. Circuit upheld actions by the EPA over Judge Kavanaugh’s dissent, and the Supreme Court ultimately agreed with Judge Kavanaugh.  As Jonathan Adler puts it at the Volokh Conspiracy (a blog written by law professors),

His dissents showed the way for the [Supreme] Court in Michigan v. EPA (White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA concerning mercury emissions), UARG v. EPA (CRR v. EPA concerning GHG emissions), Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB (concerning separation of powers), and D.C. v. Wesby (concerning qualified immunity). And even when certiorari was granted, Judge Kavanaugh’s dissents have been noted in subsequent Supreme Court cases (as in Lexmark International v. Static Control Components which favorably cited Kavanaugh’s dissent in Grocery Manufacturers Association v. EPA). This suggests other justices will take the new junior justice’s opinions quite seriously, especially on administrative law.

As a key issue related to the mission of the Cornwall Alliance, we are beyond ecstatic to see President Trump seek to elevate a judge willing to keep the overreaches of the EPA in check. Judge Kavanaugh can intelligently disentangle the morass of administrative law, not just rubber-stamp the decisions of bureaucrats. That is a boon to liberty, and a boon to all who believe that Congress makes laws—not unelected bureaucrats, or judges.

Even though the current Acting Administrator of the EPA, Andrew Wheeler, is committed to environmental stewardship that cares for both people and planet, it is important to remember that not all of the employees at the EPA are conservative, and that agency administrators are appointed by the President and change with the blowing of the political winds.

Judge Kavanaugh while on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals also proved himself a strong protector of the freedom of speech. “Climate skeptics” who were threatened with RICO charges for their advocacy of rigorous scientific debate, not consensus, about climate change, will appreciate that. That being said, strong freedom of speech protections don’t help just some people, they help all people. Liberals can continue to make easily disprovable claims about climate alarmism without fear of reprisal as well. We support that. We will keep telling them they are wrong, and Judge Kavanaugh will help protect our freedom to do so.

For more information on Judge Kavanaugh’s decisions during his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, read Jonathan Adler’s full article here. David French over at National Review also has an interesting article on Brett Kavanaugh’s strict adherence to the Constitution.