Senate Judiciary Committee schedules vote on Kavanaugh nomination

Vermont’s senior senator of Vermont built upon a line of questioning he began on Wednesday, pressing Kavanaugh on emails between him and then fellow Republican operative Manuel Miranda, who was responsible for promulgating stolen information from Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during Kavanaugh’s time as a lawyer for the White House counsel under President George W. Bush.

Next, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker flamboyantly violated Senate rules (the penalty for which can include expulsion from the body) by releasing some of Kavanaugh’s emails that were deemed “committee confidential”.

With Republicans holding a slim 51 to 49 majority in the Senate, it appears unlikely that efforts to defeat the Kavanaugh nomination will succeed. But he said the showy, disruptive display at the Kavanaugh hearing “reinforces their concerns of people not focusing on the challenges the country faces”.

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed in the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, tried to shake hands with Kavanaugh during a break in Tuesday’s hearing. “But, we are trying to create a national pressure against the confirmation”, Menendez said. “As Judge Kavanaugh clarified at this morning’s hearing, he was not expressing his personal views”.

Still, she’s sent signals that Kavanaugh cleared a hurdle by telling her that Roe v. Wade establishing abortion rights is settled law.

Besides her relentless questioning of President Donald Trump’s nominee, Harris also landed one of the most dramatic moments, when Kavanaugh initially couldn’t answer whether he had discussed the special counsel investigation into Trump with anyone at a law firm that represents Trump’s business. Richard Blumenthal of CT, telling him that he was not asserting his own views, but that many legal scholars hold such a position on Roe.

The Supreme Court is now evenly divided 4-4 between conservative and liberal justices. Dianne Feinstein. In a nod to the zoo-like tenor of the hearing, she told Kavanaugh, “I’m sorry for the circumstances but we’ll get through it”.

The right to own firearms was a frequent topics throughout the week of hearings.

When Harris took up the recusal question Sen. He did not come forward to the Senate to provide information about the confidential documents Miranda had given him, which were clearly from the Democrats.

Utah’s junior senator, Mike Lee, wrote in his weekly newsletter that Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., would be a Supreme Court justice by the end of the month.

In an interview with The Daily Caller on Tuesday, President Trump said, “I don’t know why they don’t take care of a situation like that because it’s bad. So that seemed to fit common use and not be a unsafe and unusual weapon”. Kavanaugh responded that “they are widely-possessed in the United States” and “they are used and possessed”. “They’re certainly unsafe – all weapons are risky – but are they unusual?”

Democrats pressed Kavanaugh over several days on the issue of presidential power.

“Even at the jeopardy of President Trump pulling back your nomination, why not now alleviate all of that suspicion that a reasonable person can have?” One after another, Democratic senators, starting with Kamala Harris of California, interrupted and talked over the committee’s chairman as he was welcoming the nominee.

Kavanaugh replied: “I can’t give you an answer on that hypothetical question”. “The email does not contradict Judge Kavanaugh’s statements that he believes Roe to be settled law and that he agrees it is important precedent”.

In addition to the special counsel, Kavanaugh’s views on executive authority were a constant focus throughout the hearings. “Too many missing emails and too many questions about his trustworthiness”.

A group called Mainers Against Kavanaugh has scheduled a rally at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in downtown Portland to encourage Collins to vote “no”.

While Senate Democrats are likely to continue their partisan gamesmanship over the next few weeks, no talking point or political stunt will change the fact that Brett Kavanaugh is a fair-minded and eminently qualified jurist. In addition, Democrats fiercely opposed to his confirmation have remained in their hardened stance.

Some red state Democrats may also vote in favor of his nomination, though none has yet said they would vote to confirm him.