Kavanaugh Defends Constitutional Checks, Faces Backlash in Texas

Lead Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh urged Americans to guard against power concentration at a Waco, Texas event Saturday, prompting protests over the Court’s perceived deference to former President Trump.

Nut Graf Invited to honor his former mentor Kenneth Starr, Kavanaugh argued that the framers designed the U.S. system to prevent any one person or group from dominating, while critics outside the venue accused the Court’s conservative majority of bolstering executive authority.

Key Details

  • Event Setting: McLennan Community College gymnasium in Waco, Texas
  • Principal Message: “No one person or group of people should have too much power in our system,” Kavanaugh said, invoking the Constitution’s checks and balances.
  • Protest Response: Dozens of students and activists held signs decrying Kavanaugh as a “Trump flunky” and denouncing the Court’s 2024 rulings favoring the former president.
  • Historical Context: Kavanaugh celebrated Kenneth Starr’s legacy, recalling Starr’s leadership in the Clinton impeachment inquiry and urging respect for rule-of-law principles.
  • Judicial Criticism: Opponents cited recent Supreme Court decisions on immigration and executive authority as evidence the Court has strayed from its neutrality.

Background and Relevance Saturday’s lecture marked the latest stage in Kavanaugh’s public defense of judicial restraint amid mounting scrutiny of the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc. His appeal to the Constitution’s framers underscores ongoing debates over the balance between branches of government and the judiciary’s role in checking presidential power.

-###- Subhead: Tribute to a Mentor Kavanaugh reminisced about his time working under Starr, praising the late independent counsel’s unwavering commitment to constitutional principle amid political attacks.

Subhead: Court under Fire Outside the event, Baylor University Democrats and local activists criticized recent rulings that critics say have expanded executive authority, including decisions allowing renewed immigration sweeps in Southern California.

Subhead: Looking Ahead As the Supreme Court prepares for the new term next month, Kavanaugh’s remarks spotlight the ideological battles shaping the Court’s docket and the broader struggle over separation of powers in Washington.