Sen. Kamala Harris, who along with Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Mazie Hirono walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Friday after Republicans agreed to hold a confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh later in the day, complained the decision came from "raw power."
"From the beginning, it should not be about raw power influencing the outcome of a decision that is not only a statement about what we hold as being precious and important about our system of justice but who will set for a lifetime on the United States Supreme Court," Harris, D-Calif., told reporters in the hallway outside the hearing.
The vote calling for a confirmation that will send Kavanaugh's nomination on to the full Senate came after Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sought a subpoena against Kavanaugh's high school friend, Mark Judge, who Dr. Christine Blasey Ford claims was in the room when she was attacked by Kavanaugh.
Republicans quickly rejected Blumenthal's call and moved for a vote to set the time for Kavanaugh's confirmation ballot. Harris and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., remained mute during the vote.
The "raw power" had been on display since the beginning of the confirmation hearings when Democrats were not given access to documents concerning Kavanaugh, said Harris.
"Failure to give us the documents, failure to interview all of the witnesses, failure to give us the ability to do background checks, to know who this individual is, it has been (about) pushing and pushing and ramming this thing through because they have the power, as opposed to the integrity to say let the American people know what's about to happen," said Harris. "This is a failure of this body to do what it has always said that it was about."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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