Progressives Call on House Democrats to Probe 'Sham Confirmation Process' for Brett Kavanaugh

A coalition of 26 progressive groups on Thursday urged House Democrats to investigate the GOP-controlled Senate’s “sham confirmation process” for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

“Many issues went unresolved during last year’s confirmation process, when Senate Republicans jettisoned all procedural norms and abandoned any sense of fairness, and they must be investigated,” the groups wrote in a letter (pdf) to members of the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Reform.

The letter summarized the groups’ many concerns:

The Senate approved Kavanaugh’s appointment by an historically narrow margin in early October of 2018. His confirmation followed three months of nationwide protests spurred by concerns about potential perjury and sexual assault as well as his judicial record and what his opinions could mean for the environment, healthcare, human rights, net neutrality, reproductive rights, and workers.

Since Kavanaugh joined the high court, his votes have further fueled progressives’ worries about his lasting impact on the constitutionally protected right to have an abortion, policies to combat the global climate crisis, and efforts to hold President Donald Trump and members of his administration accountable to the American public.

“Senate Republicans made a mockery of their constitutional responsibility to provide ‘advice and consent’ on the president’s nomination of Justice Kavanaugh, and the American people deserve to know how and why the process was such a sham.”
—26 progressive groups

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The letter explains in detail how “Senate Republicans manipulated the confirmation process for Justice Kavanaugh at every turn,” including then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) failing to fight for detailed records from Kavanaugh’s time working in the White House under former President George W. Bush.

Senate Democrats demanded the documents not only because it is standard for considering Supreme Court nominees, but also because of charges that Kavanaugh possibly lied to senators in 2006. Those alleged lies, which came during his confirmation hearing to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, were about his knowledge of and involvement in the Bush administration’s post-9/11 torture tactics.

The letter also highlighted Senate Republicans’ poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations, which culminated in Christine Blasey Ford’s televised testimony that Kavanaugh assaulted her during high school and a “virtually meaningless” FBI investigation, the terms of which were dictated by the Trump White House.