WASHINGTON — Chaos broke out at the start of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, as Democrats demanded an immediate adjournment while protesters interrupted with shouts and were dragged out by police.
Just as Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) began his opening statements, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) asked that the hearing be adjourned to review the 42,000 pages of documents dumped on senators late on Labor Day.
“We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman,” Harris pleaded.
“You are out of order,” Grassley responded.
The Democrats’ objections were greeted by applause from activists in the audience. Then a series of protesters stood up, yelling objections to Kavanaugh, and were removed by police one at a time.
As Grassley tried to restart the confirmation process, more Democrats demanded the hearing be postponed, while Kavanaugh sat silent.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called the hearing a “charade and mockery of our norms.” After several more protesters yelled out, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) then chimed in.
“What is the rush? What are we trying to hide?” Booker asked.
Grassley said the GOP majority already read through the 42,000 documents dealing with Kavanaugh’s time as a lawyer in the George W. Bush White House and Democrats should have done the same.
“That is no reason to delay the hearing,” Grassley said, adding that once the process is done, he believes Kavanaugh “will become the next associate justice of the Supreme Court.”
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