--- title: Kavanaugh's Confirmation Hearings Hit Snag Before They Start description: Democrats on the committee moved to adjourn the hearing, and protesters were removed from the room canonical: https://time.com/5385927/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-04T14:23:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T17:50:03.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats Start Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings With Fireworks og:description: "We are rushing through this process in a way that is unnecessary." og:url: https://time.com/5385927/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf367d772e639ee21/6989395a97cdfff9d96b6248/kavanaugh-hearings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6720 og:image:height: 3780 og:image:alt: Brett Kavanaugh og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats Start Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings With Fireworks twitter:description: "We are rushing through this process in a way that is unnecessary." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf367d772e639ee21/6989395a97cdfff9d96b6248/kavanaugh-hearings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrats Start Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings With Fireworks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=59a202cd-512c-447d-a67c-af6ae787e95f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Democrats Demand Postponement of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Hearing [Watch (HLS stream): Democrats Demand Postponement of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Hearing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XBjvkPlb.m3u8) (3:00)  _Published 2018-09-04. Democrats Demand Postponement of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Hearing_ by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/) and [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/) Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:50 PM UTCPublished: Sep 4, 2018 2:23 PM UTC Democrats Demand Postponement of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh Hearing by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/) and [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/) Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:50 PM UTCPublished: Sep 4, 2018 2:23 PM UTC Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee [Brett Kavanaugh](http://time.com/5336621/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court/) began with fireworks on Tuesday as shouting protesters were removed forcefully and Democratic senators called for shutting down for the day. As Kavanaugh sat silently with his family behind him, Democratic senators protested a lack of time to review the nominee’s voluminous records from [his time in the George W. Bush Administration](http://time.com/5345351/trump-supreme-court-brett-cavanaugh-nixon/), the withholding of certain documents under executive privilege and the speed with which the committee was moving on confirmation. “We are rushing through this process in a way that is unnecessary,” said Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. He and other senators spoke out of turn, as protesters with the liberal group Code Pink periodically jumped up and began shouting, leading to a chaotic opening to a week of hearings. “We stand for reproductive rights,” yelled one protester. “Please vote no!” yelled another. “An illegitimate president cannot make a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court,” yelled a third. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley hadn’t even finished his opening statement as order in the hearing broke down. Right before Grassley was slated to deliver it, the majority of Democrats on the committee, with the exception of ranking member Dianne Feinstein, moved to adjourn the hearing, arguing that the documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the Bush White House that the Senate had received Monday night was a cause for delay. Feinstein expressed her displeasure with the hearings in her opening statement but stayed out of the procedural fray. As the Democrats on the committee were making their requests, members of the public watching the hearing in the back of the room were voicing their own opposition and being led away. At least 15 protests interrupted the hearing during the first 45 minutes. One code pink protester held up a sign, that read “ROE- YES KAVANA-NOPE,” a reference to the 1973 landmark [Supreme Court decision _Roe v. Wade_ ](http://time.com/5373394/collins-brett-kavanaugh-roe-v-wade/)that upheld a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The entire time this was happening, Kavanaugh sat silently in the middle of the room, watching both senators and spectators denounce his nomination. As Grassley repeatedly tried to read his opening statement, Democrats again brought up their desire to adjourn the hearing. Grassley let them speak, but warned their efforts would ultimately be futile. “We’re going to not necessarily accommodate all obstruction, but if people have got something to say, this chairman is going to let them say it,” Grassley said. “But its pretty boring to hear the same thing all the time.” An hour and fifteen minutes after the hearing started, he was finally able to give his opening statement uninterrupted. ## Transcript [00:00] Mister Chairman. I'd like to be recognized to ask a [00:02] question before we proceed. The committee received [00:05] just last night, less than 15 hours ago, 42, 000 [00:10] pages of documents that we have not had an [00:12] opportunity to review or read or analyze. You [00:17] are out of order I will proceed. Congresswoman We [00:19] cannot possibly move forward mister chairman with [00:21] this hearing. We have not been given the opportunity to [00:24] have a meaningful hearing on this nominee. Chairman I [00:26] extend a very warm welcome to judge Kavanaugh to [00:28] his wife Ashley. Congressman Mister Chairman if we [00:29] cannot be recognized I move to adjounre. Mister [00:30] Chairman I move to adjourne. Chairman The American [00:32] people need to hear directly from judge Kavanaugh [00:33] [ APPLAUSE ] Mister chairman, I move to adjourn. [00:34] [ APPLAUSE ] Mister [00:46] chairman, we have been denied, we have been denied [00:49] real access to the documents we need to advise and to [00:51] send. Mister chairman, regular orders called. Which [00:53] turns this hearing into a charade and mockery of our. [00:58] Well- And Mister Chairman, I therefore move to [01:00] adjourn this hearing. Okay. This is a mockery and a [01:04] travesty of justice! This is an attack against [01:09] justice and the lawful act! Cancel Brett Kavanaugh! [01:13] Adjourn the hearing! [ INAUDIBLE ] Some assurance of [01:16] confidentiality- [ INAUDIBLE ] A president could not [01:20] expect to receive the full and frank submissons of facts [01:24] and opinions upon which the effective discharge of his [01:28] duties depends, end of quote. Mr. Chairman, I appeal [01:31] to be recognized on your sense of decency and [01:33] integrity Even the documents you have requested, Mr. [01:36] Chairman, even the ones that you said, the limited [01:38] documents you have requested, this committee has not [01:41] received, and the documents, we have, you [01:44] [ CROSSTALK ] should be transparent. This committee, [01:47] sir, is a violation of even the values I've heard you talk [01:50] about time and time again. The ideals that we should [01:53] have, what is the rush? What are we trying to hide by [01:56] not having the documents out front? What is the rush? [01:59] What are we hiding by not letting those documents [02:02] come out? Sir, this committee is a violation of the [02:05] values that we as a committee have striven for; [02:07] transparency. We are rushing through this process in a [02:11] way that is unnecessary. And I appeal for the [02:15] motion to at least be voted on. Mr. Chairman. At least [02:18] let's have a vote because when we wrote you a letter [02:20] on August 24, Senator. Asking to have a meeting on [02:24] this issue, you denied us, Even the right to meet. So [02:26] here we are, having a meeting, let's at least debate [02:29] this issue, let's at least call this for a vote. Senator. I [02:32] appeal to your sense of fairness and decency, your [02:35] commitments that you've made to transparency. This [02:37] violates what you have even said and called for sir. [02:40] You've called for. Documents, you yourself, limited [02:43] documents. We thought there should be more. We [02:45] have not received the documents that you have even [02:47] called for. So sir, based upon your own principles, your [02:51] own values, I call for at least to have a debate or a [02:54] vote on these issues, and not for us to rush through [02:57] this process. 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