GOP moderates sit down with Kavanaugh as they prepare for critical vote
| WASHINGTON
In recent weeks, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska has felt like she鈥檚 back in law school 鈥� reading the opinions of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as she prepares for her interview with the US Supreme Court nominee聽on Thursday.
鈥淚鈥檝e done more with this nominee than I have with any of the others,鈥� Senator Murkowski told the Monitor. 鈥淚鈥檝e allowed myself good blocks of time to actually read and digest, rather than feeling rushed [like] I鈥檝e got to spend an evening cramming for something.鈥澛�
She鈥檚 also been consulting widely with Alaskans about what questions to ask. It鈥檚 been a 鈥渧igorous鈥� process 鈥� and an enjoyable one, she says, adding that 鈥渋t helps that Kavanaugh is a good writer.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Confirming US Supreme Court justices is one of the Senate鈥檚 most consequential tasks. GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski are interviewing Judge Brett Kavanaugh this week while still plowing through paperwork 鈥� and not tipping their hands.
All senators are equal, but in this closely divided Senate, those seen as swing votes are more powerful than their colleagues. This week, all eyes are on moderate Republicans Murkowski and her colleague Sen. Susan Collins of Maine 鈥� who famously voted last summer to block the GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 鈥� as they conduct private interviews with Judge Kavanaugh and attempt to learn more about where he stands on key issues such as abortion.
President Trump made clear during the campaign that he would favor justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1974 landmark case that established a woman鈥檚 right to an abortion. Kavanaugh could be the deciding vote in future abortion cases, and Murkowski and Senator Collins, who favor abortion rights, are the only two known undecided Republican senators. If all Democrats vote against Kavanaugh 鈥� though that鈥檚 far from a given 鈥� and if Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona remains absent as he has all year, a 鈥渘ay鈥� by either Murkowski or Collins could sink Kavanaugh.
So far, neither has found anything 鈥渄isqualifying鈥� about the nominee. But that does not mean they don鈥檛 have a lot of questions for him, or that they have made up their mind.
鈥淚 have always waited until after the Judiciary Committee hearings before rendering a final decision on a Supreme Court nominee,鈥� Collins told reporters, emerging from her office after a meeting with Kavanaugh that lasted for more than two hours. 鈥淵ou never know what questions are going to come up.鈥�
Collins, famous in the Senate for her deep dives into issues, says 15 attorneys from the independent Congressional Research Service have been briefing her for several hours every other day. So when Kavanaugh made his way to her corner office聽on Tuesday聽morning, she was prepared. They covered a 鈥渨ide range of issues,鈥� she said, from executive power to gun regulation, from healthcare to judicial philosophy and what judges he admires most.
And they talked 鈥渁t great length鈥� about precedent and the application of it to abortion cases.
鈥淲e talked about whether he considered Roe to be settled law,鈥� Collins said.聽鈥淗e said he agreed with what Justice Roberts said at his nomination hearing, in which he said that it was settled law.鈥�
But that is hardly the final word on this issue. Democrats point out that conservative justices cast aside what has been considered settled law on other issues 鈥� on unions, for instance.
Settled law 鈥渋s not the important or decisive question,鈥� Senate minority leader Charles Schumer (D) of New York told reporters after meeting with the judge Tuesday afternoon. Senator Schumer said he asked Kavanaugh whether he agreed that Roe and another key abortion ruling were 鈥渃orrectly decided.鈥� The judge did not say yes. 鈥淭hat should send shivers down the spine of any American who believes in reproductive freedom,鈥� Schumer said.
Democrats also point out that state attempts to further restrict abortion rights could work their way up to the Supreme Court, where Kavanaugh could cast one or more deciding votes that slowly erode those rights.
That鈥檚 something Murkwoski says she wants to question him聽about, specifically how he might interpret 鈥渦ndue burden.鈥� In 1992,聽the Court ruled that states cannot enact laws that put an 鈥渦ndue burden鈥� on women who are seeking to have an abortion.
Murkowski has many other questions 鈥� her own, and those gathered from groups such as the National Education Association, which wants her to ask about school vouchers. On Saturday, she was out with the public at a market, listening to their concerns. 鈥淎laskans have been weighing in a lot. It is women鈥檚 reproductive health, it鈥檚 the ACA.鈥� It鈥檚 also executive power and the reach of government agencies, which are important to Alaskans. 鈥淧rivacy is a big one for us as well.鈥�
In an exclusive interview with the Monitor in April, Collins lamented the 鈥減oliticization鈥� of the judicial nomination process.
鈥淚t really bothers me that we now have a quote liberal bloc on the Supreme Court, and a conservative bloc,鈥� she said.
Collins probed Kavanaugh on his views on an independent judiciary, asking whether he made聽any 鈥渃ommitments or pledges鈥� to the conservative Federalist Society or the White House about how he would decide any issues.
鈥淗e unequivocally assured me that he had not made any such commitments, and he expressed his deep respect for the independence of the judiciary,鈥� she said in a statement after the interview.
The overall approving tone of the statement seems to support the idea that it would only be something as yet uncovered that might dissuade her from eventually supporting Kavanaugh. Indeed, Collins聽gives great deference to a president鈥檚 right to nominate justices. During her tenure in the Senate, she has never voted against a president鈥檚 nominee 鈥� be that president a Democrat or a Republican.
