Department of Interior had federally recognized Hawaiians. He said that neither Congress nor the U.S. “If Hawaii is permitted to offer extraordinary privileges to residents on the basis of race or ethnic heritage, so will every other state.” - Brett Kavanaugh Kavanaugh took a swipe at the Clinton administration’s defense of Hawaii, and the argument that Native Hawaiians should be considered in the same category as American Indian tribes, which are treated as sovereign nations with their own governing structures. “And if Hawaii is permitted to offer extraordinary privileges to residents on the basis of race or ethnic heritage, so will every other state.” “Hawaii’s naked racial spoils system, after all, makes remedial set-asides and hiring and admissions preferences look almost trivial by comparison,” Kavanaugh wrote. He said that through OHA, the state of Hawaii had set up a system that “doles out money to certain citizens based solely because of their race.” If Hawaii’s law regarding OHA’s elections were allowed to stand, he warned that the consequences would spread beyond the ballot box. In the piece, Kavanaugh argued that the case could reverberate well beyond the islands. ‘Are Hawaiians Indians?’īefore the Supreme Court heard oral arguments, he wrote an op-ed for the The Wall Street Journal titled, “Are Hawaiians Indians? The Justice Department Thinks So.” Kavanaugh, however, took the fight one step further. The cohort argued that the state was violating Rice’s constitutional rights - specifically the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments - by denying him the right to vote based solely on race. The lattter had previously been nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan but not confirmed. The two other attorneys on the brief were well-known conservatives Roger Clegg and Robert Bork. Cayetano in 1999, and Kavanaugh, then in private practice, was commissioned to co-author an amicus brief for the Center for Equal Opportunity, a right-leaning think tank with anti-affirmative action views. Although Rice was born and raised in the islands, he was of European descent. In 1996, Rice sued for the right to vote in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections, at the time restricted to individuals of Hawaiian ancestry. Kavanaugh’s history with Native Hawaiians began with a Big Island rancher named Harold “Freddy” Rice. Hirono did not want to preview her line of questioning Tuesday, but a spokesperson said Kavanaugh’s previous comments about Native Hawaiian issues are “a serious concern.” Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a July 19 meeting on Capitol Hill. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who sits on the Judiciary Committee holding the hearing. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s past.Īnd while the topic was not discussed on the opening day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing Tuesday - the morning was marked by loud protests and partisan posturing - it will likely be a subject of inquiry from U.S. WASHINGTON - Native Hawaiian issues have a prominent place in U.S.
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