I wanted to make sure that that was not the case as well. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.): Obviously I have my concerns with this president, with the White House and what he might do regarding the investigation. I wanted to make sure that his views on presidential power and separation of powers were where they should be. The Democrats were concerned that he would simply dance with who brought him there and would be far more prone to side with the president on issues. One press release actually says, “Oppose Judge XXX.” They forgot to fill in the judge’s name. Susan Collins (R-Maine): It is very telling that we’re so polarized right now that we had outside ideologically driven interest groups putting out press releases in opposition to President Trump’s nominee before they even knew who the nominee was. Both Democrats and Republicans recognized the stakes - and many seemed to indicate which way they would vote before proceedings had even started. Trump had successfully placed Justice Neil Gorsuch on the bench shortly after he took office, so a successful appointment would mean a 5-4 conservative-leaning court. The nomination is met with a strong partisan reaction. ![]() appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to fill the swing seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. In July 2018, President Trump nominates U.S. This has been edited for clarity and length. They take us through the contentious proceedings, and how their views shifted from the start of Kavanaugh’s nomination to when Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against the judge were made public. Jeff Flake and Heidi Heitkamp, FRONTLINE takes you behind the decision to confirm Kavanaugh, from the viewpoint of three senators whose minds were far from made up. Republicans publicly pledged to support Kavanaugh.īut as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tallied votes, there were a handful of senators who couldn’t be easily pinned down. ![]() ![]() Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee interrupted proceedings before they began. For the 20 million people who watched the tense Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, it seemed like decisions had already been made.
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