Washington, D.C. — (RI) — Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was at the White House Monday night for President Trump’s announcement of his latest Supreme Court Justice nominee.
Grassley says he has a “favorable” impression of the President’s nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.
Trump said he wants “swift confirmation” in the Senate for Kavanaugh. Grassley, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will lead the confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh has been a federal appeals court judge for the past 12 years and has written more than 300 opinions. Grassley says his committee will hire additional staff to conduct a thorough review of Kavanaugh’s judicial record. During a speech on the senate floor Monday, Grassley criticized Democrats in the Senate who’ve been saying they could not support any of the 25 candidates Trump was considering for the court.
Senator Joni Ernst, who was also at the White House for Monday night’s announcement, issued a written statement. Ernst says Kavanaugh is “highly-qualified, well-respected” and someone who deserves “timely confirmation” to the Supreme Court. Groups in the “Why Courts Matter Iowa” coalition issued a far different assessment, calling Kavanaugh “as far from mainstream as you can get” and “handpicked” to overturn the 1973 court ruling that legalized abortion.
