Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led a call with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee over the weekend to plot out a strategy for opposing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
“Sen. Schumer convened a call with Judiciary Committee Democrats over the weekend to coordinate hearing strategy,” a source familiar with the call told the Washington Examiner Tuesday.
Democrats on the committee repeatedly interrupted the proceedings during the first day of hearings on Kavanaugh’s nomination in an attempt to derail and potentially postpone them, employing the strategy they came up with over the weekend.
The Democrats cited the release of roughly 42,000 pages of documents Monday evening from Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush administration. They argued that members and their staffs did not have enough time to properly examine the documents. Democrats also raised concerns about another 100,000 pages that have not been produced, noting President Trump’s use of executive privilege.
Six Democrats on the committee – Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, Chris Coons, D-Del., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. – asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to delay the hearings until all members of the committee had ample time to review the documents released Monday.
Durbin confirmed Schumer’s strategy call over the weekend during the hearing.
Grassley struck down all requests to delay the hearings, promising members that they will continue hearings on Kavanaugh through the weekend until all senators’ questions are answered.
