An Advocate for Women or a Threat? As Hearings Begin, Differing Views of Kavanaugh Emerge
“How do I know what he’s going to rule on 10 years from now?” Mr. Grassley asked. “All I want is somebody that’s going to interpret the Constitution strictly and leave legislating to the Congress of the United States, and I think he’s the sort of guy who will do that.”
The hearings will play out for the next four days before the judiciary panel, with opening statements on Tuesday by senators and Judge Kavanaugh, followed by two days of questioning and a final day of testimony from outside witnesses. As Mr. Blumenthal, perhaps in a moment of understatement, predicted, “Sparks will fly.”
Judge Kavanaugh’s views on reproductive rights and Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case legalizing abortion, will take center stage. In addition to demanding to know whether he believes the case was correctly decided — a question he is all but certain to refuse to answer — Democrats will question him aggressively about his dissent in the case of Garza v. Hargan, in which he argued that a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant should not be permitted to have an immediate abortion. They have called Rochelle Garza, the girl’s lawyer, as a witness.
And in this era of #MeToo, Democrats also plan to raise pointed questions about Judge Kavanaugh’s views on sexual harassment. Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, plans to ask Judge Kavanaugh if he has ever sexually harassed anyone — a question she said she asks of all nominees — and will also ask him about a judge for whom he clerked, Alex Kozinski, who abruptly retired last year from the federal appeals court amid harassment allegations.
Republicans intend to push back by highlighting Judge Kavanaugh’s record of hiring female clerks — 25 of his 48 clerks have been women — and by making the case that he has taken pains to mentor women. Among those who will formally introduce him on Tuesday are Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, and Lisa S. Blatt, a self-described “liberal Democrat and feminist” lawyer who has advocated Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
“We want to lay the groundwork to show that this has been a judge who is empowering and mentoring women,” said one Senate Republican aide, speaking anonymously to discuss strategy.
Judge Kavanaugh has expressed strong support for executive power, hostility to administrative agencies, and support for religious freedom and for gun rights. Democrats will press him on all of these topics, but are expected to drill especially deeply into his assertion, in a 2009 Minnesota Law Review article, that sitting presidents should be “excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship,” including responding to civil and criminal lawsuits.