President Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh quietly met with two Senate Democrats on Wednesday as he courts key votes ahead of his highly anticipated confirmation hearings.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who faces a tough re-election bid in pro-Trump North Dakota in November, declined to say publicly Wednesday whether meeting the federal appeals court judge had persuaded her to support him.
“Many special interest groups and members of Congress have stated their opinions on how I should vote,” Heitkamp wrote in a statement. “They did so before I’ve been able to do my job of fully considering this nominee.”
“Before making a decision, I needed to meet with Judge Kavanaugh, as I did today, and I will closely study his answers at his Senate hearing,” she continued. “I’ll also continue reviewing his record.”
[More: More Democrats plan to meet with Kavanaugh]
NEW: Democratic senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly release statements on meetings with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation is expected to set off a pitched battle in the Senate. https://t.co/AY2MAFmfQL pic.twitter.com/iLRx0sQP7t
— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2018
Heitkamp added that during her meeting she pressed upon Kavanaugh the importance of a Supreme Court justice “avoiding activism from the bench so the Court is shielded from politics.”
Kavanaugh also spent time on Wednesday with Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, who said he planned to keep doing “his homework” before making a decision on the jurist after his Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin met with Kavanaugh in July. Heitkamp, Donnelly, and Manchin were the only three Senate Democrats who voted to confirm Trump’s first appointee, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Kavanaugh is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee starting Sept. 4. His hearing is expected to last three to four days.
