Sens. Blumenthal, Murphy Say They Will Vote Against Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Judge Brett Kavanaugh
As a member of the
"I will be a 'no' vote on this nominee," Blumenthal told The Courant. "In his record and writings, which I have reviewed, there is a very extreme hostility to many of the precious rights and liberties that make our nation great. Very clearly,
Blumenthal added, "He would be a crucial swing vote to destroy hard-won rights and liberties, specifically in eroding or overturning Roe v. Wade and go back to the days when women were denied access to contraception or the morning-after pill.
Blumenthal and Murphy, a fellow Democrat, both say that this vote will be among the most important of their careers because Kavanaugh could potentially tip the balance on key issues on a divided court with four conservatives and four liberals.
If approved by the
Within minutes after Trump's announcement Monday night, the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence for gun control opposed Kavanaugh's nomination.
"We don't have to guess when it comes to
Who Is
Kavanaugh, 53, served as a clerk to Kennedy after graduating from
In brief remarks Monday, Kavanaugh said that "no president has ever consulted more widely" on a
"A judge must interpret the
Concerns About Gun Control
Earlier Monday, both of
"Kavanaugh has taken positions far to the right of the Scalia court on guns," said Murphy, referring to the late Justice
Murphy said that Kavanaugh could become "the most radical voice on the court on guns."
He added, all of Trump's four finalists for the court vacancy "are extreme on women's reproductive rights, they're extreme on voting rights, but they are also very extreme on gun rights and you could see the eradication of all of
Trump nominates Judge
Blumenthal said that the finalists, including Kavanaugh, were strong supporters of the Second Amendment.
"Every one of them would be a nightmare for gun violence prevention," Blumenthal said. "Their positions on the Second Amendment are way far to the right of
Blumenthal added, "The issue of gun violence prevention has been largely, unfortunately, disregarded so far, but I will be making it a major issue in the judiciary committee and in my questioning because every one of these nominees would be absolutely abhorrent to anybody who cares about preventing gun violence in this country."
But
"I think
He added, "Very simply, the
But Gov.
"It is hard to overstate just how disastrous a
State Republican chairman
"Of course they're going to delay because they want to make it a mid-term election issue," Romano told The Courant. "This is an election strategy, not a leadership strategy."
During his recent walk across the state, Murphy said that he encountered a young man at a convenience store in
Murphy said the man was worried "that this one pick was going to change his country for the rest of his life. ... That's how serious the stakes are."
Even before Trump's choice was announced Monday, a coalition of 14 groups said it was planning to hold a rally against the nominee at
Tougher Questioning Expected This Time
As a member of the judiciary committee, Blumenthal will have the ability to question the nominee -- in the same way that last year he questioned Trump's first pick for the court,
But Blumenthal said that this time will be different -- hinting that the
"This justice has to answer questions more forthrightly and fully than we've seen in the past," Blumenthal told reporters Monday. "No more canned, rehearsed, pablum answers about adhering to settled precedent. We've seen that movie. We know how it ends, with in fact, abandoning settled precedent -- as
Blumenthal was referring to the lawsuit of Janus vs.
Murphy agreed that the once-deferential tone could be different this year with potentially sharper clashes.
"There has been a deference that has been given in the past," Murphy said. "Maybe a refraining from follow-up questions that would put the nominee in a tougher position -- I would hope that the members of the committee would be more willing to ask this time."
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