Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sarah Mamula - Talk Radio News Service

The White House predicts that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's confirmation next week will go smoothly, despite unease among Republican Senators over still unreleased documents.

In a conference call Friday with David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President, and White House Counsel Bob Bauer, the two emphasized the backing Kagan has received from both parties.

“One of the more striking features ... is the breadth of support that Elena Kagan ... has received from Democrats and Republicans and from lawyers on any side of the political divide,” Bauer said.

While there were initial rumors that Republicans could boycott the hearings over 1,600 documents withheld from the Committee from Kagan's days as a Clinton appointee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has promised that the minority party will be in attendance when the hearings open. However, during an interview with ABC, Sessions would not reject the possibility of a filibuster against the nominee.

In addition to the documents, some in the GOP are worried over Kagan's background. Axelrod dismissed concerns that Republicans could use the hearings to cast Kagan as a “judicial activist” for her history as a political appointee during the Clinton administration, arguing that her experience studying, teaching and practicing law while working as Solicitor General of the United States and working as Dean of the Harvard Law School will outweigh the label.

“I don’t think this is going to be the issue at the end of the day on which this nomination rests,” said Axelrod.

Kagan goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday. According to Axelrod, Kagan, who once described the confirmation process as a "ritual dance," will be well prepared.

“In the last week or so, she has spent several hours a day fielding questions,” said Axelrod. “She has thought a lot about these issues.”