Judicial pick Kavanaugh has edge in Senate review
WASHINGTON — Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, is a well-regarded judge with strongly conservative views on presidential power, gun rights and environmental protection. He will almost surely tip the court to the right on abortion, affirmative action and religion.
But the most important fact as Kavanaugh goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday is a number: It is made up of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
This week’s four-day hearing promises to be contentious at times when disgruntled Democrats press the nominee to answer their questions, and dry and dull at other times when Republicans offer praise and lob him softballs. Tuesday’s hearing will feature only opening statements from senators and Kavanaugh, with questioning — and the real fireworks — to begin Wednesday.
But barring a major surprise, it will end with him winning approval on a straight party-line vote. His nomination will then move to the Senate floor, where Republicans hold a 51-49 edge.
“I think the handwriting is on the wall. I think he will be confirmed pretty handily” and probably by the end of September, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who sits on the Judiciary Committee and is the majority whip.
Veteran Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, who is retiring at the end of this year, said he expects to play defense for Kavanaugh, and to “rehabilitate or to help him if needs it. I know the man. He’s a very good choice.”
The partisan divide is sharp and clear in the Judiciary Committee. Since Trump took office last year, the White House and the committee have worked in tandem to swiftly approve conservative nominees for the courts, including Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and 26 new appellate judges. While a few nominees opted to withdraw after encountering criticism, none has been blocked by the committee, despite the slim GOP margin.
But Democrats are determined to put up a fight over Kavanaugh, believing his conservative views would not be popular if they were widely understood.
“I’m going to be asking about his view of privacy rights, women’s health care and health care generally, whether the president is immune from the legal process if he is subpoenaed by a grand jury, whether the president is above the law,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “The audience is the American people and our colleagues, and the two are closely related, because the American people need to know what’s at stake and the impacts on their everyday lives.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is expected to pose questions on abortion and the fate of the Roe vs. Wade abortion ruling.
Trump promised to appoint justices who would vote to overturn the right to abortion, and this fall, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch could join a court where three conservatives have already voted to cut back on or repeal the abortion right. And a direct challenge to Roe vs. Wade could come to the court within a year since several Republican-controlled states have recently adopted laws that, if upheld, would all but end legal abortions.