Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., announced Wednesday that she will meet with Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Aug. 15, making her the third Senate Democrat who will meet with the Supreme Court nominee.
Heitkamp’s meeting will come on the same day as Kavanaugh’s planned sit-down with Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind. Kavanaugh held his first talk with a Senate Democrat on Monday with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., which lasted nearly two hours.
“I’ll meet with Judge Kavanaugh on August 15 to sit down with him and learn more about him, his judicial record, and his judicial temperament. I’ll also need to see his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a thorough and exhaustive review – which is what every senator should do when evaluating a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court,” Heitkamp said in a statement. “As I’ve continued to say, one of the most important jobs of any U.S. senator is to fully vet any nominee to serve on the Supreme Court, the highest court in our land. And that’s exactly what I plan to do, just as I have for other Supreme Court nominees, including Justice Gorsuch.”
Heitkamp initially made the announcement Wednesday to Joel Heitkamp, her brother, on his North Dakota-based radio show.
Heitkamp, Donnelly, and Manchin were the only Senate Democrats to support Justice Neil Gorsuch’s nomination last April. They are all up for re-election in November.
