Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Monday that his two-hour long discussion with Judge Brett Kavanaugh was “very productive” as the Supreme Court nominee begins to court Senate Democrats to back his possible confirmation.
“It’s very productive. That’s all I can say,” Manchin told reporters after the meeting.
According to the West Virginia Democrat, the two talked about a number of topics, including healthcare and executive power, but declined to delve too deeply about their talk.
“In two hours you talk about everything,” Manchin said.
The meeting was Kavanaugh’s first with a Senate Democrat and one of only two on the books after a host of meetings with Senate Republicans. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., is slated to meet with him on Aug. 15.
Manchin said that he expects to sit down with Kavanaugh again after he comes before the Senate Judiciary Committee and press him further as he moves toward a decision on the judge.
[Also read: Kavanaugh comes knocking but Democrats won’t meet with him]
“There’s always going to be things coming up that we didn’t count on or maybe we didn’t cover, or maybe that I want more clarification,” Manchin said, adding that he did the same with then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch last year.
Manchin was one of only three Senate Democrats who voted to confirm Gorsuch last April, along with Donnelly and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. Heitkamp’s team is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the judge.
“It gives us a lot to work on,” Manchin said of the meeting. In the meantime, the Democrat won’t comment on where he stands on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“I think it’s irresponsible to announce your position minutes after the nominee is announced,” Manchin said. “I will not make a final decision on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination until I complete a thorough and fair examination of his candidacy in order to decide whether he should hold the position of Associate Justice on the highest court in the land, just as I did with Neil Gorsuch.”
