Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is set to become the second Supreme Court Justice added under President Trump’s early presidency and just got one step closer to the confirmation vote.
On Friday evening, Kavanaugh returned a 110-page questionnaire and more than 2,000 pages of accompanying material, Politico reports, moving his confirmation process along to the next step.
From Politico:
Kavanaugh stated in his responses to the committee that, before President Donald Trump tapped him for the high court, no member of the administration or others involved in the vetting processed had asked about “any currently pending or specific case, legal issue, or question in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted as seeking any express or implied assurances concerning your position on such case, issue, or question.”
The 53-year-old nominee spent five years in former President George W. Bush’s White House before serving 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In addition to the basic biographical information he submitted, Kavanaugh delivered to senators more than 1,000 pages in previously delivered speeches alone, as well as hundreds more pages of published writings, interviews, past court filings, and other related documents.
Kavanaugh wrote in his questionnaire that White House counsel Don McGahn first discussed a potential nomination with him late on June 27, the same day that Justice Anthony Kennedy officially announced a retirement from the Supreme Court. On July 8, the day before Trump named Kavanaugh, the nominee wrote that he spoke with the president in the morning and met that evening with the president and First Lady Melania Trump.
Senate Democrats are still looking to delay the confirmation vote for as long as possible, until at least after the November congressional elections. Should they get a majority in the Senate, Democrats will presumably end the confirmation process:
Issues Brett Kavanaugh was involved in as a Republican political operative and in the Bush White House:
Starr investigation
Bush v. Gore
Torture
Warrantless Spying
Rendition of prisonersWe need ALL of Brett Kavanaugh’s documents to fully review his record.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 20, 2018
We’re asking to review ALL of the records from Kavanaugh’s career to fulfill the Senate’s ‘advice and consent’ responsibility. Reviewing the entirety of a nominee’s record is what the Judiciary Committee has always done. #ReleaseTheRecords
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 20, 2018
Do not be silent! Calls into my office about Kavanaugh are STILL running strongly against his nomination. The Justice that Trump appoints could give the President the power to pardon himself. Keep making your voices heard! #SaveSCOTUS
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) July 20, 2018
Yet another reason why Kavanaugh is not fit to sit on the Supreme Court. #SaveSCOTUS https://t.co/U6LEvippOa
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) July 20, 2018
The Senate yesterday effectively blocked the confirmation of a judge whose intolerant writings made him unqualified to serve on the federal appeals court. We can block Kavanaugh, too. Raise your voices. Call your senators. And don’t let up.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) July 20, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh was chosen for his extreme views. The last thing we need on the Supreme Court is a radical justice with no respect for women’s reproductive freedoms. Proud to stand with @NARAL in support of access to women’s health care and reproductive freedom. #CommitToRoe
— Rep. Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) July 20, 2018
Make no mistake: Brett Kavanaugh is the next Scott Pruitt, except he’ll have the power of our nation’s highest court behind him. Read my op-ed in @USATODAY on #WhatsAtStake: https://t.co/oU7oiw4liG
— Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) July 20, 2018
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has cautioned that if Democrats delay the vote, he will have it scheduled right before the congressional elections. This, McConnell said, will serve two purposes: one, it will force vulnerable Democrats in red states to go on record for the vote; two, it will deal a momentum blow to Democrats, should Kavanaugh be approved.