In a vote divided largely along party lines, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to the full Senate.

The 13-6 vote – with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham casting the only GOP vote in Kagan’s favor – was identical to the committee’s vote last year on the nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with all Democrats voting for Kagan.

Graham said that although he disagrees with Kagan on key issues, he believes that Kagan is a qualified candidate and that is the standard by which the Senate should vote.

More here from Lawyers USA.

But Grahams vote was enough for President Obama hail the support of his candidate by both parties.

“Today’s vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee is a bipartisan affirmation of her strong performance during her confirmation hearings,” Obama said in a written statement.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Congress, Elena Kagan, Supreme Court. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.