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What Is Originalism?

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What Is Originalism?
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh thumbs through a well-worn, pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the second day of his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 5, 2018, in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Rob Natelson
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Commentary
When President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, it was widely claimed he was appointing “originalists.”
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Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.” He also researched and wrote the scholarly article “Virgil and the Constitution,” whose publication is pending in Regent University Law Review.
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