Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., demanded Tuesday that his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee quit playing games with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by following irrelevant lines of inquiry as part of his confirmation hearing.
“The question before us today is not what did Brett Kavanaugh think 11 years ago on some policy matter, the question before us is whether or not he has the temperament and the character to take his policy views and his political preferences, and put them in a box marked ‘irrelevant,’ and set it aside every morning when he puts on the black robe,” Sasse said.
“The question is: Does he have the character and temperament to do that?” the junior senator from Nebraska continued. “If you don’t think he does, vote no. But, if you think he does, stop the charades. Because at the end of the day I think all of us know that Brett Kavanaugh understands his job isn’t to rewrite laws as he wishes they were. He understands that he’s not being interviewed to be a super legislator. He understands that his job isn’t to seek popularity. His job is to be fair and dispassionate.”
Inject this @BenSasse opening statement directly into my veins. Gosh this is amazing ?? #KavanaughConfirmation pic.twitter.com/eLn35pefkk
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 4, 2018
Kavanaugh’s first appearance before the panel Tuesday was disrupted several times by outbursts from protesters in the room. Senate Democrats also sought to delay proceedings after receiving 42,000 pages of documents late Monday regarding the Kavanaugh’s time working for former President George W. Bush.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kavanaugh will be President Trump’s second nominee to make it to the nation’s highest court. Democrats do not have the numbers in the upper chamber to permanently block Kavanaugh’s confirmation on their own.
