Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday began his first public hearing of the Trump administration’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The Senate Judiciary panel is expected to take up Kavanaugh’s nomination on Wednesday, and will be the final hurdle to the confirmation process.
Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, who is up for re-election in 2020, said Kavanaugh should be confirmed on the basis of “common sense” and “objectivity.”
“I don’t think the public would be so upset if this nomination was overturned by the courts,” McCain said.
“This nomination is not about judicial philosophy.
This is about a man of substance, a man who has a solid record on the issues, and it’s time that this nomination be confirmed.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said that his concern was “whether the Supreme Courts has a role in the judicial branch or whether they are the role of the Senate Judiciary.”
The Judiciary Committee will likely vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation at its June 24-26 hearing.
The panel will also consider other nominees, including a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, a nomination for the National Labor Relations Board, and a nomination to the U,S.
Circuit Court of the Appeals in Denver.