Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., indicated Monday that he and other Democrats would push President Trump’s Supreme Court pick to answer questions more directly than past nominees have, a tactic he said means the end of the “ordinary deference” that nominees have received.
“There are also clear indications that this justice has to answer questions more forthrightly and fully than we’ve seen in the past,” Blumenthal told reporters in Connecticut. “No more canned, rehearsed pablum answers about adhering to settled precedent.”
Supreme Court nominees are traditionally evasive at their hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. When asked specific questions about how they would rule in a case, they usually say they can’t commit to one side or the other in a hypothetical case, and often say their decision would depend on the law they are looking at.
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But Democrats are worried that Trump’s nominee will be anti-abortion, and might help the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Democrats also fear the nominee will try to undermine Obamacare, which is why Blumenthal, a member of the committee, said more direct answers are needed this time around.
“You know, questioning the Judiciary hearing is ordinarily courteous and even deferential,” he said. “No more business as usual. The standards of ordinary deference to answers that are evasive, canned or rehearsed should be abandoned.”
“We need to be as direct and incisive as possible, and then to use physical evidence,” he added. “Documents, past writings, records in a very graphic and dramatic way, and develop other tools that are potentially available.”
Blumenthal added that Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, indicated he would rely on past precedent, but ended up overturning precedent in the recent Janus case. That’s a reference to the late June case in which the court said federal workers can’t be required to financially support federal unions if they aren’t members.
“We’ve seen that movie, we know how it ends,” Blumenthal said of the practice of being satisfied for vague answers.
Despite his remarks, Democrats can’t force Trump’s nominee to answer questions more fully, and can only make the case to wavering Democrats that his or her answers are not enough to warrant a vote. Most Democrats are already expected to oppose Trump’s pick, while a few voted for Gorsuch and may decide again to vote for his second nominee.
Trump is scheduled to announce his nomination at 9 p.m., Monday night.
