Rancorous, partisan start for Supreme Court hearing
US Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh declared fervently at his Senate confirmation hearing that the court “must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution”.
But that was at the end of a marathon day marked by rancorous exchanges between Democrats and Republicans.
The hearings began with a sense of inevitability that the 53-year-old eventually will be confirmed, perhaps in time for the first day of the new term, on October 1.
However, the first of at least four days of hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee began with partisan quarrelling over the nomination and persistent protests from members of the audience, followed by their arrests. US Capitol Police reported that 61 people were removed and charged with disorderly conduct. And in a curious incident which caused a stir on social media, as the hearing broke for lunch Kavanaugh was approached by Fred Guttenberg, the father of a Parkland school shooting victim, but declined to shake his hand.
Strong Democratic opposition to Trump’s nominee reflects the political stakes for both parties in advance of the November Midterm elections, Robert Mueller’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign and the potentially pivotal role Kavanaugh could play in moving the court to the right.
Democrats, including several senators poised for 2020 presidential bids, tried to block the proceedings in a dispute over Kavanaugh records withheld by the White House. Republicans accused the Democrats of turning the hearing into a circus.
Trump tweeted that Democrats were “looking to inflict pain and embarrassment” on Kavanaugh.
Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal warned that Trump was “selecting a justice on the Supreme Court who potentially will cast a decisive vote in his own case”.
At the day’s end Kavanaugh spoke about the importance of an independent judiciary and the need to keep the court above partisan politics.
“A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.” At the start, Democrats demanded that Republicans delay the hearing. Chairman Chuck Grassley disagreed.
Democrats railed against the unusual vetting process by Republicans that failed to include documents from three years Kavanaugh worked in the Bush Administration, and 100,000 more pages withheld by the Trump White House. Some 42,000 pages were released on the evening before of the hearing.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, D, said that no one could review 42,000 pages overnight “no matter how much coffee you drink.”