2 Georgians say they’ll vote to confirm Kavanaugh

Isakson, Perdue took to Senate floor to endorse nominee.

WASHINGTON — Both of Georgia’s Republican U.S. senators publicly committed Thursday to vote in favor of confirming Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court this fall.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Johnny Isakson called the D.C. Court of Appeals judge “the real deal.”

“He is a regular guy, a brilliant man (who) cares about his country deeply,” he said. “I can’t think of any better reason to vote for him.”

President Donald Trump tapped Kavanaugh last month to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Perdue, who had previously vowed to back Kavanaugh, also took to the Senate floor on Thursday to praise the nominee.

“Judge Kavanaugh is an independent, well-qualified nominee to the United States Supreme Court. He’ll defend and uphold the United States Constitution,” Perdue said. “I give this man my fullest unreserved recommendation.”

The Georgians’ endorsements came a day after Kavanaugh met with Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, two red-state Democrats seen as key votes in the chamber. Other Democrats have refused to meet with Kavanaugh until Republicans agree to seek records from his three years of service in the George W. Bush White House.

Perdue said many Democrats were unfairly critical of Kavanaugh even before he was named as Kennedy’s would-be successor.

“That kind of blind partisanship is what the American people find unacceptable about Washington,” he said.

Many Democrats are worried that Kavanaugh will tilt the high court’s ideological balance to the right, but they alone don’t have the votes to block his confirmation. Party leaders have scrambled in recent weeks to find a reason that could prompt Republicans to reject Kavanaugh, including tying him to his former law clerk Britt Grant, who was recently confirmed as a judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Those efforts have seemingly been unsuccessful. Senate Republicans announced they would hold a confirmation hearing for Kavanaugh beginning Sept. 4, clearing the way for a final vote this fall.