U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut was one of the Democrats who attempted to stop the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the hearing, Blumenthal introduced a motion calling for a postponement in order to allow time for senators to gain access to all of Kavanaugh’s documents from his time in the White House during the George W. Bush administration. Committee Chair Sen Chuck Grassley of Iowa overruled the motion. That prompted this exchange with Blumenthal.
“I ask for a roll call vote to overturn the ruling of the chair and to allow for a vote on my motion to adjourn,” Blumenthal said.
“That would be an appropriate motion if we were in executive business session. But we are not in executive business session, so it’s denied,” Grassley said.
“Mr. Chairman, I will proceed under protest. We’ve had a lot rhetoric so far about rules and norms. I am very regretful that the chair has adopted this stance that in my view contradicts our basic norms and rules. But I will proceed.”
Blumenthal went on to say that he intends to use the hearings to highlight his belief that if confirmed to the High Court, Kavanaugh would be a loyal soldier for the anti-abortion and pro-business agenda of right wing groups like the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.
Addressing Kavanaugh directly, Blumenthal said that if he were to win confirmation to the Supreme Court, there would be a taint to his name.
“There will always be an asterisk after your name – appointed by a president who was an unindicted co-conspirator after the vast majority of documents related to the most instructive period of his life were concealed.”
