WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved Elena Kagan for the U.S. Supreme Court in a vote mostly on party lines.
Kagan, who would be the third Jewish justice on the current court, received 13 votes; six committee members voted against her nomination.
Democrats favored and Republicans voted against, with the exception of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who cautioned his colleagues to base their votes on character and qualifications, and not on ideology.
Kagan, currently the U.S. solicitor general, now awaits a vote by the full Senate, which the Obama administration hopes to take place before the August recess.
Republicans, who are in the minority, have said they will not filibuster her nomination.
