This looks exactly how this week feels.pic.twitter.com/Xq93LxoRgg
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Kavanaugh also will not answer as to his view on Whole Woman's Health — despite the fact that he talked about Casey and Roe, and WWH is the most recent robust precedent in that line of cases.
When he declines to comment, he reiterates language from earlier in the hearing about not commenting on current or recent decisions, saying it's similar to how other SCOTUS nominees have handled such questions and fits within his personal view of judicial independence.
They're going to do a third round: Eight minutes per person. But Grassley basically says that he hopes the Republicans don't ask questions in that round.
Cornyn, going last in the second round, starts off by suggesting that questions about the Federalist Society are like McCarthyism.https://twitter.com/sarahposner/status/1037842962045128704 …
OH: “It just feels really late in the day to be talking about Chevron.”
Durbin focused on gun rulings in his third round. Feinstein is up now.
Despite Grassley’s request that Republicans skip their turns, Hatch took a brief turn after Durbin and now Kennedy is up.
Leahy has given his 8 minutes to Hirono, so Grassley has given Leahy some of his time to speak. Leahy thanks him and says he’ll be brief.
Whitehouse is questioning whether Kavanaugh is limiting US v. Nixon to trial subpoenas through his descriptions in a way that would give him an “out” to treat a grand jury subpoena differently. Kavanaugh says he was just characterizing the decision.
Mike Lee talked about federal lands, but had no question on that point, and Kavanaugh’s Sharpie that he is using to take notes. So that’s that on that. Now up, Klobuchar.
BTW, Kavanaugh said he was using a Sharpie so he could see his notes in the hearing room. (Honestly, practical and made sense!)
Klobuchar brings up Chevron, and even *she* acknowledges this isn’t a headline-grabbing topic, saying she read his view in a certain situation as wishing for de novo review — and then added a joke about her having the attention of everyone still watching at home.
Blumenthal is up. “I’m asking you to reconsider your dissent in Heller II,” he says, signaling a new, more resigned-to-Kavanaugh-becoming-a-justice approach. He’s trying to reason with him this round, not just question him.
Hirono is asking about Janus and the implications of the First Amendment-based rationale for overturning precedents.
Sasse is up: His child wants to know if Kavanaugh is afraid of poisonous spiders and Sasse himself ... is worried about liberals on campus.
Booker is up. After saying he wouldn't fire someone based on their race or sex, Kavanaugh only broadly says he hires people based on their qualifications when asked about whether firing people because they're gay is OK.
Pressed further, Kavanaugh won't answer about his moral views on anti-gay discrimination due to pending litigation on the scope of civil rights laws.
On his time working in the Bush White House, Kavanaugh won't say whether he ever shared his opinions on same-sex marriage. K: "There was debate in the White House about what President Bush was doing." B: As for now, "Have you officiated a gay marriage?" K: "I have not."
Flake is up. (I honestly need this to end.)
I've run two half-marathons, whereas Kavanaugh has done two marathons. That's why I am breaking before him.
I'm not writing in all-caps, but, yeah, that was ... a disquieting moment.https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1037882848181665792 …
Harris is up. She's starting on Trump's recent DOJ-related tweet.
Harris is talking about affirmative action, asking why courts should decide when the country has reached a point where it's unnecessary. Kavanaugh doesn't directly answer, but says, "We still have, as I've said in my opinions, work to do" as to race-based discrimination.
Harris asks about HBCUs and federal funding and how that would be affected by such a time. He talks about the importance of HBCUs.
/ Regarding Trump's tweets about DOJ, Kavanaugh said he wasn't going to comment because it was in the political realm. /
Harris asks about the effect on the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act if such a time is reached. He says, so long as the laws are in place, they should be enforced.
Tillis is up, asking about the Kasowitz stuff, and what Kasowitz lawyers he knows. He names one, who he worked with in the WH. (Corrected, w/ h/t to @fordm.)
That's that.
And, that's all, folks! A little past 10:10p, we are done for the day. And we are done with Kavanaugh's questioning. Next open session will be at 9:30a Friday, with witnesses.
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