Democrats protest as USA high court nominee’s chaotic hearing opens

But that likely doesn’t matter for Kavanaugh to succeed. If all goes as Republicans plan, Kavanaugh could be on the bench when the court begins its new term on October 1.

In an interview on Tuesday afternoon, Guttenberg, who had been introduced at the hearing earlier as a guest of Sen.

Republicans have a slim majority in the 100-seat upper house.

“He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away”, Guttenberg wrote.

The Kavanaugh hearings are expected to last three to four days; it remains to be seen whether the handmaids will stay the course for the duration.

Kavanaugh said he has been a “pro-law judge” who does not seek a pre-ordained outcome, and who would bring his impartiality to the nation’s high court. If Kavanaugh, a staunch Republican, is confirmed, he may well tilt the court’s ideology right-ward for at least a generation, as he’d replace a man who often acted as a swing vote on landmark decisions. “We have not had an opportunity to have a meaningful hearing”, said California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris.

The confirmation hearing for US President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee quickly descended into chaos on Tuesday with Democrats demanding a postponement and protesters shouting loudly.

But then again, Senate Republicans showed their willingness to bend and flout regulations in order to wrest control of the federal judiciary when they refused to even meet with President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and blocked his confirmation long enough to get Justice Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the Court instead. Additionally, several Democratic Senators are facing reelection battles in states where Trump won by double digits in 2016, meaning a vote against Kavanaugh could be potentially toxic for them. So whatever the validity of their request, it’s not going to change their minds about elevating the appeals court judge.

Republicans also have released some but not all of the existing documents concerning Kavanaugh’s two years as a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office prior to become staff secretary.

He called the Supreme Court “the last line of defense for the separation of powers (in the U.S. government), and the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution”.

Democrats say they have a lot of misgivings about Kavanaugh’s pledge to be nonpartisan, saying he has a history of conservative political activism. Her exit was followed by that of two other women, according to another video shared by another activist, Fox News reported.

Actress Piper Perabo was arrested in the Senate on Tuesday for protesting at the Supreme Court nomination hearing for Brett Kavanaugh. Based on Kavanaugh’s writings about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Democrats fear he opposes any indictment of a sitting president, which is particularly a concern for them after President Trump’s former longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, alleged Mr. Trump directed him to take actions that violated campaign finance law.