The first day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh begins Tuesday morning.
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – The first day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh begin Tuesday morning.
No questions will be asked, only opening statements, but over the next few days he’s expected to face extreme scrutiny as senators from both sides of the aisle question him on a wide variety of topics.
Democrats can’t block his confirmation on their own so they’re expected to press the appellate judge on a number of hot-button issues, especially health care and abortion.
“First and foremost is the fact that this President said I’m not going to put a man on the Supreme Court unless he is going to overturn Roe versus Wade and the Affordable Care Act,” said Senator Dick Durban, D-IL.
“If there’s a case before him that challenges Roe v. Wade, that he would listen to both sides of the story and apply a test to overturn precedent,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC.
That could be enough to swing Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, two Republicans who support abortion rights.
In recent days, Democrats have also been raising the alarm over a lack of transparency after the Trump administration blocked thousands of documents related to Kavanaugh’s time in the Bush White House.
And less than 24-hours before the hearing, a lawyer for former President George W. Bush released 42-thousand new documents. Senator Minority leader Chuck Schumer called it absurd, tweeting “not a single senator will be able to review these records before tomorrow.”
A Twitter account for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded to Senator Schumer, saying his team reviewed all 42-thousand pages and is ready for the hearing.
