Bush backed down after nominating his lawyer to the Supreme Court – 06/11/2023 – Power

The president appoints his personal lawyer to the Supreme Court and is automatically the target of criticism from both the opposition and the situation.

It is happening now in Brazil, with the appointment of lawyer Cristiano Zanin to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) by President Lula (PT), and it happened 18 years ago in the United States with George W. Bush.

The nomination of Harriet Miers, who had been the Republican’s personal attorney, survived only 24 days, from October 3 to 27, 2005, with strong opposition from the moment it was announced.

First, there were questions about her academic background, as she had graduated from a small Texas institution, Southern Methodist University, far from the famous Ivy League group of elite universities like Harvard, Yale and Columbia.

In Brazil, the fact that Zanin does not have a doctorate or master’s degree was used to question whether he has the “remarkable legal knowledge” required by the Constitution to occupy the position of minister of the STF.

Like Zanin, who was Lula’s lawyer in the Lava Jato cases, Miers was criticized for not being impartial due to his proximity to the president, which would inevitably bring about conflicts of interest.

She had been close to Bush since serving as a legal adviser in the transition of government when the Republican was first elected as governor of Texas in 1994, and was appointed by him to head the state’s lottery council.

In 2001, when Bush first took over the White House, she became the new president’s secretary and personal assistant. In 2003, she was named Deputy Chief of Staff, and a year later, White House Counsel.

As the nomination faced criticism, letters and notes she sent to Bush over the years surfaced, calling him, among other things, “the best governor ever, deserving of great respect.”

Miers was also criticized for not having held a position as a judge, unlike the other members of that Supreme Court. She also had no experience in constitutional law or well-known legal positions.

Most of the frying was done with friendly fire. Then-Republican Senator Rick Santorum, who represented the most religious wing of Parliament, said Miers was “a blank sheet of paper” and that he was “disappointed” in Bush for appointing someone whose views were not known.

Bush nominated Miers to fill the vacancy of Sandra Day O’Connor, who had decided to retire after 25 years on the court. O’Connor had been nominated by fellow Republican Ronald Reagan and was theoretically part of the court’s conservative bloc.

However, it bothered Republicans for not necessarily voting as conservatives wanted, maintaining, for example, the understanding that abortion was a constitutional right — even though it authorized certain limitations on the practice.

Thus, his replacement during a Republican term was seen as an opportunity to put a more conservative name on the court. That was one of the first reasons Bush party members opposed Miers, who had no public record of opposing abortion.

With strong opposition, the White House released documents recording Miers’ opinions, including a questionnaire where she indicated that she would support a change in the understanding of abortion as a constitutional right. It wasn’t enough to overcome the resistance.

Former Attorney General Robert Bork (who had also been barred from his nomination to the court by the Senate more than a decade earlier) called the nomination “a slap in the face to conservatives who have been building a conservative justice movement for the past 20 years.”

In Brazil, Zanin’s opinion on abortion must also go against Lula’s base. He told evangelical parliamentarians that he was personally against the practice and understood that the issue should be the responsibility of Congress.

In the US, in addition to abortion, other issues bothered conservatives. While president of the Texas Bar Association, Miers supported maintaining affirmative action to encourage women and people from racial minorities to enter the practice of law, another agenda rejected by conservatives.

The frying continued, and before the Senate had actually voted on the nomination, Bush had removed Miers from the race. Four days later, he nominated the conservative Samuel Alito in his place, which was approved without difficulty by the Republicans. In June of last year, Alito composed a majority to reverse the understanding that abortion is a constitutional right.