Graham: Kagan not anti-military

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said Tuesday that he does not believe Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is anti-military.

Graham met with Kagan in his Capitol Hill office. The solicitor general has been making the rounds there, meeting with key senators on the judiciary panel before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on her confirmation.

"I disagree with her position but once the Supreme Court ruled, they changed their position," he told reporters. "I didn't take that to mean she is anti-military."

Several Republican senators and outside groups have suggested that Kagan is opposed to the military because she upheld Harvard Law School's policy of barring military recruiters from the Office of Career Services when she served as dean there.

The military was barred from the office due to its ban against openly gay people serving in its ranks.

Recruiters were allowed on campus through an outside group. The White House has pushed back against the narrative.

Graham is a former military lawyer and serves on the Judiciary Committee.

Last week, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) made similar comments to Graham's.

The South Carolina senator would not say if he would support Kagan. He largely praised her after his meeting.

"I thought it was a good meeting," he said. "She is a very intelligent charming person and I told her that because you're not a judge, that means the hearings will take on a little more meaning.... I don't find it a disqualifying factor at all that she hasn't been a judge before. Many members have come to the Court without judicial experience, but it does make the hearings more important."

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