Senate panel approves Kagan nomination

WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 Tuesday to approve Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court, sending it on to a full Senate vote.

The vote was largely along party lines, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham the only Republican on the panel supporting Kagan, The Washington Post reported.

Graham praised Kagan's performance during the hearing and said she would serve "honorably" though he disagrees with her "liberal" views and she would not have been his own choice, The Hill reported.

The full Senate will consider the nomination after an upcoming energy debate, probably later this month or in early August, the Post said.

The Judiciary Committee conducted four days of hearings on Kagan's nomination before Congress took its Fourth of July recess.

If approved by the full Senate to fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, Kagan -- the current solicitor general -- would become the fourth woman to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, joining Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor on the current court.