As Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing kicked off Tuesday, Democrats were quick to jump in and dispute whether or not the process should continue, given the number of withheld documents from the judge's time working in the White House under President George W. Bush.
The repeated protests drew some applause from the audience, but Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were less impressed. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that "if this were a court of law," Democrats "would be held in contempt of court" for all the interruptions. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) piped in to remark, "Oh, come on," but Cornyn continued. "I suggest we get on with the hearing," he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) cited an NBC News report that said Democrats had convened in a phone call over the weekend and "plotted a coordinated protest strategy" to "disrupt and protest the hearing," asking whether the Democrats present had participated in the call. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) called the comment "outrageous," and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) responded by acknowledging the phone call, arguing that it was necessary given the lack of "access to basic information about his public record."
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The chaos continued as the lawmakers debated whether or not to vote on a motion to adjourn the hearing until after the committee could review recently-released documents. Cornyn took another swipe at his Democratic colleagues, saying he couldn't take their complaints "seriously" and accusing them of trying to dismantle the hearing by "mob rule." Watch the moment below, via CNN. Summer Meza
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