Toomey to be a ‘yes’ and Casey a ‘no’ on Kavanaugh

Senators plan to stick with parties on court vote

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON — If any senators break party lines during Saturday’s Supreme Court confirmation vote, it won’t be Pat Toomey or Bob Casey.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s qualifications won over Mr. Toomey, who was not swayed by accusations of sexual misconduct, the Pennsylvania Republican said after reviewing an FBI report into the allegations.

The report did not sway his Democratic counterpart, either.

Mr. Casey opposed the nomination before the allegations surfaced. Even before Judge Kavanaugh was named, Mr. Casey said he could not support any pick that came from President Donald Trump’s short list because it was compiled by the right-leaning Federalist Society, which sought to weight the court toward corporate interests.

He said Friday that those concerns were compounded by last week’s “credible and persuasive testimony” by Christine Blasey Ford, who said the judge tried to rape her when both were in high school.

Mr. Casey said a followup FBI report did not lessen his concerns because he believed the Trump administration meddled in and constrained the investigation.

Mr. Toomey explained his support of Judge Kavanaugh in a statement Friday that attacked Democrats for incivility and for putting politics above qualifications. “Today, the worst possible claims about a nominee are considered disqualifying by some, despite the absence of any corroborating evidence, because they disagree with the nominee’s judicial philosophy,” he said.

“We need to take seriously allegations of sexual assault, while at the same time providing due process to those who are accused of misconduct.”

Mr. Toomey said Judge Kavanaugh is a fair, impartial jurist who adheres to the Constitution and has sterling academic and judicial credentials.

Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote is scheduled for today.