Conservative groups say Justice Kagan cannot be impartial in upcoming Supreme Court climate litigation
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is facing calls for a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation after a coalition of conservative legal organizations accused her of failing to recuse herself from a major climate change case expected to be argued before the high court next term, alleging she publicly endorsed legal theories central to the dispute.
In a letter sent Monday to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders, the coalition urged lawmakers to investigate whether Kagan violated federal ethics rules by participating in Suncor Energy v. Boulder County.
The coalition argued that Kagan compromised her impartiality by writing the foreword to the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which included a climate science chapter that was later criticized by Congress and Republican attorneys general as biased and was eventually removed.
Suncor Energy v. Boulder County asks whether Colorado local governments can use state law to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for their alleged contributions to climate change.
In her foreword, Kagan wrote that judges would increasingly confront lawsuits involving "climate science" and encouraged them to use the manual as a resource for evaluating scientific evidence.
The coalition argues those comments, along with her endorsement of the manual, create the appearance that she had already embraced legal theories underlying the plaintiffs' claims.
"Justice Kagan's conflicts of interest on climate litigation preclude her from serving as the 'neutral arbiter' required by her oath," Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino said in a statement. "By endorsing and penning a promotional preface for a judges' reference manual featuring an overtly biased 'climate science' chapter, she embraced the partisan ideals and legal theories driving state and local climate lawfare. The manual's bias was so egregious that Congress and state attorneys general called for its removal."
The climate science chapter promoted scientific theories frequently relied upon by state and local governments suing oil and gas companies over climate change, according to the letter.
After Republican lawmakers and a coalition of Republican attorneys general accused the chapter of presenting a one-sided view, the Federal Judicial Center removed it from the version of the manual distributed to federal judges.
"Kagan's implicit judicial endorsement of the manual and her support of climate-lawfare theories are evidence she cannot remain impartial on climate litigation, including the Court's upcoming Suncor case. She must recuse herself immediately," Severino added.
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The letter also argues Kagan has a history of inconsistent recusals. It points to her participation in NFIB v. Sebelius, the landmark Affordable Care Act case, despite serving as solicitor general during the Obama administration while the law was being defended.
It also cites American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, which revisited issues related to Citizens United after Kagan argued against that decision as solicitor general, and United States v. Briones, where the Supreme Court later acknowledged she should have been recused because of her prior involvement in the case while serving in the executive branch.
The coalition is asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings and investigate whether Kagan complied with federal ethics law and the Supreme Court's code of conduct, arguing public confidence in the judiciary depends on justices stepping aside whenever their impartiality "might reasonably be questioned."
The request mirrors the committee's most recent scrutiny of Supreme Court ethics. In 2023 and 2024, the Senate Judiciary Committee, then under Democratic control, investigated ethics concerns involving Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito following reports about undisclosed luxury travel, gifts and relationships with wealthy benefactors.
The committee held hearings and authorized subpoenas as part of its oversight, though the inquiry did not lead to impeachment proceedings.
The letter comes as Kagan is scheduled to appear alongside Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to testify on the Supreme Court's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, one of the rare occasions sitting Supreme Court justices publicly testify before Congress.
The Supreme Court's Public Information Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.