Top 5 new insights into Elena Kagan
The Clinton Presidential Library has released 75,000 of Kagan's emails — providing new perspective on the enigmatic Supreme Court nominee
In what could prove the most enlightening window yet into the personality and politics of the famously opaque Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, the Clinton Presidential Library last week released 75,000 emails sent to and from Kagan in the late 1990s, when she was a domestic policy adviser for Bill Clinton. Senators will be delving into Kagan's past when her confirmation hearing starts on June 28. Thanks to the emails and the media's compulsion to scrutinize them, here are five things we already know about her:
1. Kagan is no stranger to foul language: Kagan occasionally peppered her emails "with salty language that would make Vice President Joe Biden proud," says Josh Gerstein at Politico. In one message, she used "a New Yorkerized version of the word 'unbelievable'" — un(expletive)believable — to respond to a message about a legislative glitch involving welfare reform.
2. She can be sarcastic: Kagan once "chastised an underling," says Amy Goldstein in The Washington Post, for informing senior White House advisers that Kagan's office would be releasing a "policy announcement of sorts." "'Of sorts?'" Kagan emailed. "Not quite the attitude we want to convey." Critiquing another colleague's email, she replied: "Not to carp, but on memos to the president, it's usually wise to spellcheck."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. She was a big fan of Bill Clinton: The New York Times notes that in several of the emails Kagan is "fiercely protective" of then-president Bill Clinton, demanding that her staff take extra care to avoid making him look bad and, at one point, marvelling at his power of recall in a note with the subject line, "Elephantine": "Look at today’s AP story re the president’s comments on hiring welfare recipients... Absolutely amazing the way he remembers things."
4. Kagan isn't afraid to speak her mind: Kagan frequently wrote tough, sometimes caustic emails to her colleagues, even if her views were unpopular in the administration. In one message, she clashed with speechwriters over a line in an advance draft of Clinton's 1997 State of the Union address. The line included a quote from the Biblical prophet Isaiah about being a "repairer of the breach" — a reference to Clinton's desire for bipartisanship. "That quote from Isaiah is the most preposterously presumptuous line I have ever seen," Kagan wrote. "The president would deserve it if the press really came down on him for this." The quote stayed in.
5. Kagan was enthusiastic about affirmative action: The emails will give Republican senators looking for evidence of Kagan's leftward slant fresh ammunition, says Roger Clegg in National Review. In one message she noted that presidential race adviser Chris Edley was leaving and lobbied to be put in charge of affirmative action in his place. "I know the issue well (because I teach it) and care about it a lot."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published