On May 14, while speaking at the National Press Club, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue was asked about Elena Kagan’s four-day-old nomination to the Supreme Court. The Chamber had yet to finish its endorsement process, he replied, but “I have no objection to her.”
Something clearly changed. Last week, as the Senate prepared to vote on Kagan, the Chamber announced it wouldn’t take a position on the nomination — the first time that’s happened since the Chamber started endorsing Supreme Court nominees 20 years ago. It marked a rare moment of silence in the Chamber’s relentless push to make the courtroom friendlier for big business.
