Senate should take care

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court comes at a tense moment. More than ever, the court is in danger of becoming viewed as an instrument of politics rather than an independent, nonpartisan branch of government.

That is why senators must be even more exacting than usual when they evaluate Mr Kavanaugh. They should insist on a justice who would rule with genuine independence of mind – and a willingness to resist abuses of power by this and future presidents. ‘‘I believe an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic,’’ Mr Kavanaugh said after his introduction. He must show he means it.

Mr Kavanaugh has trended conservative on issues such as abortion, indicating a narrow view of what constitutes an undue burden on a woman’s right to end her pregnancy. He has frequently voted against the Environmental Protection Agency, arguing that programmes to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and cross-border air pollution went further than the law allowed.

Most importantly, senators must extract an ironclad commitment that Mr Kavanaugh will act as a check on the president. That’s a role he has not seemed comfortable playing in cases involving enemy combatants, or in a law review article suggesting the president should not be subject to civil or criminal court proceedings while in office.