(LEX 18) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Monday he will support Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Paul previously had been a lonely Republican voice expressing any concern about President Donald Trump’s pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Paul had raised questions about surveillance and privacy rights, among other issues.
“I have expressed my concern over Judge Kavanaugh’s record on warrantless bulk collection of data and how that might apply to very important privacy cases before the Supreme Court," Paul said in a statement.
With a narrow majority made smaller still by the illness of GOP Sen. John McCain, any defection from Republicans could have spelled doom for Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Few regarded Paul’s concerns as likely to lead him to publicly oppose the nomination, however, with some pointing to similar tactics employed by the junior senator in the run-up to other key votes.
“Of course, my vote is not a single-issue vote, and much of my reading and conversation has been in trying to figure out exactly how good Judge Kavanaugh will be on other issues before the Court," Paul said.
