The confirmation hearing for President Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, started with a bang as Democrats asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for a delay. Reportedly, 22 people were arrested in the Capitol for disrupting the hearing.
Tuesday was mainly for opening statements, and the crux of the questioning will start on Wednesday.
Many court observers do think that Kavanaugh’s nomination is a slam dunk. Supporters point to his sterling conservative credentials. He has the backing of The Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. Other surprising voices have also emerged in support of Kavanaugh, like Lisa Blatt, a self-described “liberal feminist lawyer.”
Writing for Politico, Blatt says:
I have argued 35 cases before the Supreme Court, more than any other woman. I worked in the Solicitor General’s Office for 13 years during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. Because I am a liberal Democrat and feminist, I expect my friends on the left will criticize me for speaking up for Kavanaugh. But we all benefit from having smart, qualified and engaged judges on our highest court, regardless of the administration that nominates them.
But everyone will focus on Kavanaugh’s attitudes toward executive power, gun control, health care, and especially abortion — although Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Kavanaugh told her he believes Roe v. Wade is “settled precedent.”
Could there be a window for his nomination to get blocked?
The public has no direct say in the next SCOTUS justice, but worth noting the only other two nominees who had such weak public support never made it to the court. https://t.co/64ATXRP07S
— Asma Khalid (@asmamk) September 4, 2018
Here’s part of what’s at stake for critics of Kavanaugh’s nomination, according to writer Moira Donegan.
Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings begin today in the Senate. If he is confirmed, we face the likely erosion and overturn of nationwide abortion protections and the increased possibility of a federal fetal personhood law.
— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) September 4, 2018
And Democrats are finding it hard to forget the context of this nomination.
Sens Durbin and Feinstein raise the GOP snubbing of Garland. Going to be a constant backdrop of this hearing since Dems complain this is being rushed. Durbin – “I think the treatment was shabby of Merrick Garland and President Obama’s nominee.”
— carl hulse (@hillhulse) September 4, 2018
As Kavanaugh prepares to face tough questions from the Senate, we consider what impact will he could have on America’s history, its law and its politics.
Produced by Stef Collett. Text by Gabrielle Healy.
GUESTS
Robert Barnes, Supreme Court correspondent, Washington Post; @scotusreporter
Adam White, Research fellow at the Hoover Institution; director of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law; former speechwriter and aide to President Bill Clinton; @mawaldman
Emily Bazelon, Staff writer, The New York Times Magazine; Truman Capote fellow at the Yale Law School; @emilybazelon
For more, visit https://the1a.org.
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