After weeks of extraordinarily emotional, dramatic, and political feelings in Washington and around the country, the Senate Judiciary Committee met this morning to finally vote to confirm D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, just three minutes into opening remarks, several Democrats walked out of the vote.
Judge Kavanaugh has faced great scrutiny from Senate Democrats and progressives across the county as protests occurred not only before the confirmation hearings began, but when they started as the first day was interrupted by chants from almost 200 Kavanaugh dissenters.
When the discussions over Roe v. Wade ended, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford entered the picture with allegations of sexual assault against the Supreme Court nominee from 36 years ago in high school in suburban Maryland. The letter written to her local Congresswoman, which was later leaked to the press, has been at the heart of the turmoil of the confirmation process.
In the weeks following, more women came forward with uncorroborated allegations, but it was Ford, a clinical psychology professor from Palo Alto, California, who appeared before the Senate to testify on Thursday. Judge Kavanaugh gave an emotional testimony just after the accuser.
“We’re ramming through this nomination process,” said many Senate Democrats, but the vote was scheduled less than 24 hours after the unprecedented testimonies.
Friday morning, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee attempted to move the vote to the afternoon. After a few minutes of aggressive back and forth chatter, a vote to delay to 1:30 was beat.
When committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) gave his opening remarks, he went into a forceful shot at Democrats saying, “I found Dr. Ford’s testimony credible…I found Mr. Kavanaugh.”
He added that after yesterday, “there’s simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaungh a seat on the Supreme Court…based on the evidence presented to us.
Grassley also charged that the questions asked of Judge Kavanaugh on part of Democrats during yesterday’s testimony were “unequivocally and universal hostile.”
Not long after he began talking, multiple senators walked out.
Still in her seat, Senator Dianne Feintstein (D-CA) remarked, “I have never seen any nominees for any position behave in that manner,” speaking to yesterday’s testimony by Judge Kavanaugh in front of the committee. Feinstein said she was “embarrassed” by his candor when questioned by Democratic senators.
In the hall just outside the committee room, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that Republicans “bent over backward to let Mrs. Ford be heard.”
Since there are a list of other judicial nominees to vote on, a vote is still set for 1:30.
When reporters asked the Democrats that walked out if their “seat would be empty at 1:30,” most said they “do not know.”