Wednesday on Hugh Hewitt’s nationally syndicated radio show, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he anticipated that Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the vacancy left by the retiring Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, would be confirmed during September.
Should Kavanaugh be confirmed by mid-September, which Tillis said it was a 100 percent chance probability, it would set Kavanaugh up for the beginning of the high court’s term in October.
Partial transcript as follows:
HEWITT: Let’s go back to these hearings. At what point do you think Chuck Grassley will simply bring them to a conclusion? We don’t want a Clarence Thomas 2.0. We don’t want a borking. We want the same respect as was extended to Judges Sotomayor, now Justice Sotomayor, Solicitor General Kagan, now Justice Kagan. That’s what we give them. At what point will Charles Grassley bring down the gavel to stop the abuse of the nominee?
TILLIS: Well, I think it starts with the members of Judiciary on his side of the aisle kind of setting our expectations, and I believe that we’ve done that. Chuck Grassley’s one of the best chairs that I’ve had the privilege to work with. And we’ve made it very clear that we will be respectful of the institution and the process, but we are not going to allow this process to get railroaded. And having a timeline consistent with Sotomayor and with Gorsuch is appropriate, and that’s going into this process our expectation. If it’s just a week, is that a problem? No. If it shifts much beyond that, then I think it becomes a problem.
HEWITT: So you are very confident third or fourth week in August for hearings?
TILLIS: Yeah, I think third or fourth week for the hearings, and then you know, that sets us up for a vote in time to get Judge Kavanaugh seated and have him ready for the next session.
HEWITT: Perhaps by mid-September, because you’ve got to dive into those briefs. It takes a few days. 30 seconds to you, Senator Tillis. You’ve got to give them a couple of weeks to get ready for the term.
TILLIS: Well, that’s right. That’s exactly why we’ve got to pull it forward so that he is ready to be an active member. He’s a brilliant guy. He brings a lot of experience, so I think in a couple of weeks, he’ll be ready.
HEWITT: Last question. In terms of percentage, what’s your level of confidence that Judge Kavanaugh will become Justice Kavanaugh in September?
TILLIS: 100.
HEWITT: 100%. Thom Tillis, that’s what I wanted to hear. Thank you, my friend.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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