Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will sit down with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, next week, becoming the first Democrat to do so.
A spokesman for Manchin said the meeting will take place Monday, July 30.
Since Kavanaugh was nominated to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, he has met with 23 senators, all Republicans, according to the White House.
[Opinion: Two weeks later, 0 Democrats have met with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh]
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders chided Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during Monday’s press briefing for playing “political games” with Kavanaugh’s nomination. She accused Schumer of encouraging Senate Democrats not to meet with the Supreme Court hopeful.
But Manchin is among a handful of red-state Democrats who is seen as a potential vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
He, along with Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., supported Justice Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court last year.
Other Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have already announced their intent to oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination. His detractors are raising concerns about the future of abortion rights and access to affordable healthcare if Kavanaugh is confirmed to the high court.
Democrats also want access to a trove of documents stemming from Kavanaugh’s time working in the White House for President George W. Bush and want to see more progress in turning over the millions of pages of records.
[Related: Kavanaugh comes knocking but Democrats won’t meet with him]
Al Weaver contributed to this report.
