Postscript: Rauner signs on to letter backing Kavanaugh court nomination

SHARE Postscript: Rauner signs on to letter backing Kavanaugh court nomination
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Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, left, on Capitol Hill earlier this month. | File Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images; Gov. Bruce Rauner, right, speaks at an even last week. File Photo. | Colin Boyle/Sun-Times.

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature will be added to a letter sent by the majority of the country’s Republican governors in support of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court nomination — despite the govnernor’s name being noticeably missing from the letter Wednesday morning.

Rauner on July 10 said he supports the nomination of Kavanaugh, a politically connected conservative judge.

But Rauner was one of four Republican governors whose names were missing from a letter first obtained by the AP that asked that senators move quickly to confirm Kavanaugh to the court. They wrote: “Judge Kavanaugh’s impeccable credentials demonstrate he is worthy of this nomination,” the AP is reporting.

Hours after the letter was reported, the Rauner campaign said the Republican Governors Association would be adding Rauner’s signature to the letter.

“Governor Rauner has supported Judge Kavanaugh as a nominee for the Supreme Court since he was announced earlier this month,” campaign spokesman Will Allison said.

The RGA said Rauner’s exclusion from the letter was a “simple miscommunication” and a new one with Rauner’s signature was being sent Wednesday afternoon.

The other Republican governors missing from the list are Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott.

“I support the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. I believe he is highly experienced, well-qualified for the position, and I hope that his nomination is voted on and approved expeditiously,” Rauner told reporters on July 10 in Schaumburg after touring Amada America, Inc.

Rauner also said his signing of House Bill 40 last year will protect the reproductive rights of women in Illinois — even if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

That’s a key concern for many Democrats in Illinois. Rauner in September signed the controversial measure that expanded taxpayer-funding of abortions. And it also prevented a trigger in Illinois law that abortion rights supporters say would make the procedure illegal in Illinois should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

“I want to make clear that I signed legislation here in the state of Illinois so that women’s reproductive rights are protected regardless of what happens at the federal level,” the governor said.

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