Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s first confirmation hearing is set for Sept. 4, said Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Friday.
The date is in line with Republicans’ desire to confirm Kavanaugh, who was picked by President Donald Trump, by early October when the Supreme Court starts a new term, reported Politico.
“He’s a mainstream judge,” Grassley said in a statement according to The Hill. “He has a record of judicial independence and applying the law as it is written. … It’s time for the American people to hear directly from Judge Kavanaugh at his public hearing.”
The three to four days of hearings will likely occur “before the National Archives is able to fulfill Grassley’s request for documents from Kavanaugh’s time as a White House lawyer,” reported The Hill.
However, a separate legal team has already said it will be able to fulfill the request at a quicker pace.
“If we could get this all done by Oct. 1 when the Supreme Court starts its new fall session, [that] would be ideal,” Grassley said on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show on Aug. 1. “But I think we can get it done soon after that if we don’t get it done by Oct. 1.” (RELATED: This Is The Timeline For The Kavanaugh Confirmation)
Conservatives defended Grassley’s announcement of the timeline.
“Democrats have already announced that they oppose [Kavanaugh], so this claim that they need more time or more documents is nothing more than a show,” said Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network. “Judge Kavanaugh has been endorsed by leading figures on the right and the left. He is a mainstream nominee who will base his decisions on the law and the Constitution.”
Democrats like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly have said they are open Kavanaugh’s nomination, reported The Hill.
Kavanaugh is currently a U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Kavanaugh is polling strongly with voters in red states represented by Democratic senators seeking re-election. Fifty-four percent of Alabama voters, 52 percent of Indiana voters, 60 percent of North Dakota voters and 55 percent of West Virginia voters want Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Some view the Catholic judge as a threat to women’s reproductive rights. Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Kavanaugh’s confirmation would turn Trump into a “monarch” at a Capitol Hill rally on Aug. 1.
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