![]() ![]() But I can’t vote for a Democrat because you’re part of a mob.” That’s what they saw. ![]() I had one person say: “I like you, Heidi. ![]() I don’t think it serves the institution of the Senate well. You know, how would you like to be sitting there and having this whole explosion around you? I think the American public watched that, and they could empathize with the person in the chair. Center stage is the process, and then later, the process got even messier. I think in some ways, the side story of this is not just the selection of Kavanaugh. Heitkamp:I thought that’s no way to conduct a hearing, that that candidate deserves the opportunity to make his statement and to be treated respectfully in the room. We were interrupted dozens and dozens and dozens of times. I tell you, it was big drama, that room. There were more cameras - you could barely hear for the clicking whenever the judge would turn his head or make a motion that they wanted to capture.Ĭollins: I was embarrassed for the Senate. When Chairman Grassley was not even allowed to complete his opening statement before being interrupted by Democratic senators in what was clearly an orchestrated move, I was very worried about the confirmation process. 4, 2018, the first day of Kavanaugh’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, was a chaotic scene: protesters lined the back of the room, and Democrats immediately began interrupting the committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, calling for the hearing to be postponed.įlake: You could see the protesters waiting in the back. You just didn’t know when they would erupt. The number of us who were truly undecided was probably fewer than 10. And we talked frequently. We were determined to go through a thorough process. I was very worried about what the process said to the American people. There’s no do-overs once that person sits on the bench.Ĭollins: People on both sides of the aisle very quickly took positions on Judge Kavanaugh before they knew anything about him, or very little about him. I think you’ve got to go through the process. I mean, there Republicans saying, “It doesn’t matter who it is I’m going to support the president’s nominee.” I think that’s an aberration of your constitutional obligation for advice and consent. ![]() Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.): I think it was a mistake on both sides. 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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