This is the calm before the storm.
Ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that begins next week, Judge Kavanaugh has met with every Republican Senator and most of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, as well as several from pro-Trump Red States. Although pro-abortion senators have continued to elevate (lower?) their rhetoric against him, in private meetings he has impressed them with his deep knowledge of the law and commitment to judicial independence, as well as charmed them with his winsome personality. Even his one-on-one meetings with radical pro-abortion Democratic Senators Cory Booker (NJ) and Kamala Harris (CA) reportedly went well, in spite of their public vitriol against him.
Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is set for four days, beginning Tuesday, September 4th, and will be live streamed from the Judiciary Committee’s web site. It will open with statements by members of the Committee and the nominee, as well as statements by formal “Introducers.” These are Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, former Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice, and Supreme Court practitioner Lisa Blatt. Wednesday and Thursday will feature Judge Kavanaugh in the “hot seat,” answering questions from Committee members. On Friday, former clerks, lawyers who have appeared before him, and colleagues will offer reflections in support of his nomination. On the minority side, witnesses are expected to be focused on the threat they perceive to “reproductive rights.”
A voluminous record has been built up around Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, and the Judiciary Committee has made it available to the public here, in addition to the over forty formal letters of support submitted as of this writing from legal and advocacy organizations, women who worked with him in the Bush Administration, the Harvard Black Law Students’ Association and 34 Governors and many others.
