A U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama's second U.S. Supreme Court pick, Elena Kagan. The Democratic-led panel recommended replacing the court's leading liberal, retiring Justice John Stevens, with Kagan, a former Clinton White House lawyer who also represented the U.S. government before the high court as Obama's solicitor general during the past year. The full Senate is expected to confirm Kagan before the month-long August congressional recess and in time for the court's autumn session. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was the only republican to support Kagan in the 13-to-6 committee vote. He said that Obama had chosen “someone who is qualified, who has the experience and knowledge to serve on this court, who is in the mainstream of liberal philosophy and understands the difference between being a liberal judge and a politician.” Kagan would be the fourth woman to reach the highest U.S. court, bringing the number of women justices currently serving to three. Republican critics feared that Kagan would be unable to keep her personal politics separate from her judging. But Democrats argued that Kagan's decades of legal work and experience qualify her for the position.
