Top Senate Democrats are finally ready to acknowledge the Supreme Court's newest nominee.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have abandoned their weeks-long avoidance of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the high court, a senior Democratic aide tells The Washington Post.
The Democrats previously insisted they wouldn't see Kavanaugh until they reviewed documents from his time working under former President George W. Bush. But after learning the National Archives wouldn't have those records ready for months, they'll reportedly meet with Kavanaugh and ask him to join their call for releasing the records.
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Some Democrats have opposed Trump's nominee since long before his name was even revealed, and they have since demanded an extensive review of his very long track record. Republicans say this is an obstruction tactic, used to delay Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing until Democrats perhaps pick up some Senate seats in November's midterms. After all, even after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) requested 900,000 pages of Kavanaugh's records, Schumer still wondered why he didn't ask for more.
So Schumer and Feinstein will start having traditional one-on-one meetings with the nominee once they get back from recess on Aug. 15 — but not just to question him on reproductive rights, per the Post. They'll also ask Kavanaugh to press for the release of all his records, including papers from three of his five years in the Bush White House that Grassley didn't ask for. Regardless of if or when those papers surface, Republicans still plan to start Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in September.
