Overview

• During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Sen. Tim Kaine compared a nominee’s claim that rights come from the Creator to beliefs held by Iran’s theocratic regime.
• Nominee Riley Barnes had stated that rights come from God rather than laws or governments, echoing language from the Declaration of Independence.
• Sen. Ted Cruz objected in the hearing, calling Kaine’s comments stunning and reiterating that the Declaration says rights are endowed by a Creator.
• The Hill published an opinion essay arguing Kaine’s stance reflects legal positivism and warning that tying rights to government authority risks making them revocable.
• The Spectator ran a piece criticizing Kaine’s understanding and linking the exchange to wider disputes over civic education and the framing of God-given rights, with no reported change in Barnes’s confirmation prospects.