WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick is now facing a test in Congress, with senators already launching a partisan fight.
- Kavanaugh meets with Senators on Capitol Hill
- Democrats previewing potential way to stall vote
- Republicans want Kavanaugh confirmed by fall
- PREVIOUS: Trump picks Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court nominee
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh made his first visit to Capitol Hill, shaking hands with Senate leadership. It’s the start of what is bound to be a grueling, months-long confirmation process.
Many Republicans issued praise for the president’s second Supreme Court nominee.
“President Trump has nominated an extraordinarily well-qualified candidate based on his time on the bench, and the time in the Bush administration, and the time he spent in academia,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina.
But Democrats -- even those that get no vote on Kavanaugh’s approval -- are sounding the alarm that another conservative like Kavanaugh would move the court to the right.
If Republicans Senators stick together, they have enough votes to get Kavanaugh confirmed -- that’s a big ‘if.’
Meanwhile, Democrats are previewing a potential way to stall a vote, saying Kavanaugh's filed hundreds of court opinions, and they need time to read through them.
“If that makes us take a little more time, so be it. As the President himself has said, this is one of the most consequential nominations we have had in a generation,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York.
But with Republicans in control, Democrats are facing an uphill fight.
Republicans hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed and on the bench by fall, before midterm elections.