A key Senate Democrat said he disagrees with calls by his own party to delay the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“We do our job, let’s do our job,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W-Va., said. “We have to have a court, let’s find the right person. You have to go through this process. Delaying’s not going to help anything.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is leading some Democrats in his party to call for the Kavanaugh proceedings to come to a halt.
[Related: Dems use Manafort, Cohen as weapon against Brett Kavanaugh]
Schumer cited Tuesday’s plea agreement by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who implicated Trump. Schumer said Kavanaugh also told him privately on Tuesday he did not believe Trump had to respond to a subpoena because he is the president.
“At this moment in our nation’s history, the Senate should not confirm a man to the bench who believes that presidents are virtually beyond accountability, even in criminal cases,” Schumer said.
But Manchin, along with two other red-state Democrats, are likely to back Kavanaugh’s nomination because they are up for re-election in states that backed Trump by double digits.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin the confirmation hearing on Sept. 4 and GOP leaders said they plan a final vote on Kavanaugh before Oct. 1, which is the state of the Supreme Court term.
Manchin said Schumer has not called on him to join calls to delay a vote on Kavanaugh.
“No one’s discussed this with me at all,” Manchin said. “We’ve got a nominee the president has put forward. We have an advise and consent job we have to do. We are going through all of his opinions. It’s time to move on. Let’s find out where we stand. I’m waiting for the judiciary hearing.”
