Supreme Court confirmation hearing kicks off today. In excerpts of Brett Kavanaugh's opening statement released by White House, he references a certain Merrick Garland, who he serves with on the DC Circuit, calling him "our superb chief judge"https://reut.rs/2wIiGLT
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Grassley now seems to have got things going but Dems are still calling for a vote to adjourn
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UPDATE: Democrats protest as U.S. Supreme Court nominee's hearing beginshttps://reut.rs/2wGHseD
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Latest Reuters polling on the Kavanaugh nomination: Support the nomination: 28.1 percent Oppose the nomination: 30.1 percent Don't know: 41.8 percenthttps://bit.ly/2oBPAcu
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Kavanaugh hearing has been going for almost an hour and basically hasn't got started due to Democrats' mass protest over access to documents related to nominee's time in the Bush White House
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So far, Kavanaugh is very much the bystander at his own confirmation hearing
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Chairman Grassley has kept his cool so far but signs of exasperation are emerging. Turning to Democrats, he says: "How long do you want to go on with this?"
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1hr15mins after start of hearing, Grassley is now giving his opening statement
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26 women and 4 men have been removed from the hearing room after disrupting the hearing, per
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"I find it difficult to imagine that your views on this subject escaped the attention of President Trump who seems increasingly fixated on his own ballooning legal jeopardy" Sen. Leahy tells Kavanaugh re: the nominee's views on presidential power
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Some Republicans expressing disbelief about Democrats saying they won't support Kavanaugh even before the hearing started are the same Republicans who helped prevent a hearing from even taking place for Merrick Garland
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"We need a direct, credible answer from you, is this president or any president above the law?" Democratic Senator Dick Durbin asks Brett Kavanaugh
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Senator Whitehouse points out Gorsuch's testimony last year about not being a "philosopher-king" and then notes his vote in major labor case that threw out a 1977 precedent on 5-4 ideological vote
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Sen Cruz says Clinton had litmus test for judicial nominees but Trump didn't, despite the fact Trump said he would appoint "pro-life judges"
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Re: Sen. Cruz's comments, this story from Nov. 2016: Trump promises pro-life, pro-gun judges, will keep some Obama policies in place - http://go.shr.lc/2PD5ezX -
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Sen. Sasse is repeating the GOP talking points attacking the "administrative state"
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Still eight senators to go until we even get to Kavanaugh's opening statement
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"We got off to a very bad start" -- Chuck Grassley
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Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh finally gets a word in after 7 hours
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Kavanaugh: "My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent. "
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Kavanaugh also stresses the independence of the judiciary, which will be a topic in his hearing due to Trump's frequent criticism of decisions he doesn't like: "As Justice Kennedy showed us, a judge must be independent, not swayed by public pressure."
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Kavanaugh: "The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution"
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Hearing over for the day. Mammoth session of questioning due tomorrow. Don't forget snacks
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End of conversation
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