Conservative Groups Urge Senate Probe of Kagan Over 1 Climate Case Recusal

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 13

A coalition of conservative legal groups asked the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday to investigate whether Justice Elena Kagan violated ethics rules by not recusing from Suncor Energy v. Boulder County.
The groups argue Kagan compromised her impartiality by writing the foreword to a Federal Judicial Center evidence manual that included a climate science chapter later attacked by Republicans and removed from versions distributed to federal judges.
Suncor asks whether Colorado local governments can use state law to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for alleged contributions to climate change, a dispute the coalition says overlaps with theories Kagan appeared to endorse.
The letter also cites what it calls Kagan's inconsistent recusal history in cases including NFIB v. Sebelius and Briones, and asks for hearings similar to the Senate ethics scrutiny of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in 2023 and 2024.
The push lands a day before Kagan is scheduled to appear with Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the House Appropriations Committee on the Supreme Court's fiscal 2027 budget.