There have been some early successes in the nomination process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. He celebrated with White House officials on Friday, according to a senior administration source.
Kavanugh’s nomination initially met with skepticism from a few Republicans and Democrats, but now the judge seems positioned for confirmation.
“We’re doing great at the end of the first quarter, but I know there’s a long way ahead,” Kavanaugh told friends, supporters, and aides over Yuengling and tortilla chips in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The judge thanked staffers, communications assistants, and former clerks who have organized legal and political support for his nomination. He joked that aides probably spent “75 straight hours in chambers.”
“I’m going to do the best to live up to the confidence that the president, team and others have placed in me,” he added.
Recent battleground polling in red states represented by Democratic senators shows a comfortable majority of voters favor Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the high court. Opposition to his nomination appears scattered and shallow. Though a handful of Republican lawmakers privately expressed misgivings about Kavanaugh as the president considered potential nominees, most of the GOP caucus has publicly committed to support the judge.
Republican lawmakers are moving forward with the chamber’s review of Kavanaugh’s record. But there have been Democratic requests for a sweeping disclosure of work product he produced in the George W. Bush White House.
Democratic lawmakers have asked to review any record Kavanaugh generated or handled as a Bush aide. GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced late Friday that the panel had submitted a request for documents related to Kavanaugh’s legal work in the Bush White House.
“Today, on behalf of the committee, I submitted a request for documents related to Judge Kavanaugh’s time in the White House counsel’s office,” Grassley said. “I expect the production to be the largest ever in the Senate’s consideration of a Supreme Court nominee.”
“As I have said repeatedly, I am not going to put the American taxpayers on the hook for the Senate Democrats’ fishing expedition,” he added.
Share this:
