Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sits down for his first day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing will start around 9:30 a.m.
Kavanaugh was nominated in July to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom he previously clerked. His nomination has set off a national public debate, as his confirmation could tilt the balance of the high court for a generation.
Democrats have been largely opposed to his nomination, saying it could jeopardize abortion rights, environmental regulations and so on. Here is a quick breakdown of the major issues over which Kavanaugh will be grilled. The fight between Democrats and Kavanaugh goes back more than a decade when he was first nominated for a federal judgeship. Read more about that here.
You can look through the volumes of files on Kavanaugh here.
A long list of witnesses will be called before the committee, including Hunter LaChance, who is from Kennebunk. He is expected to testify against Kavanaugh’s nomination, and will talk about environmental regulations, according to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the committee.
You can take a look at the various panel members here.
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