National

Will Sen. Tom Carper vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh? Not this time

Sen. Tom Carper is the only sitting Democratic senator who voted in favor of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, to be a U.S. Circuit judge in 2006.

But Democrats don’t need to worry about his defection this time.

The Delawarean, who is up for re-election in November, said in a statement that Kavanaugh has revealed his “true colors” during his 12 years on the bench and has amassed a record that’s a “profound disappointment.”

Republicans are calling for a swift confirmation process for Kavanaugh, but Carper said — even before Kavanaugh was nominated — that he isn’t prepared to move forward on any nominee until a new Congress is elected in November.

He said he is applying the standard created by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocked a vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, back in 2016. McConnell had said he wanted to wait until after the presidential election to “give the people a voice in filling this vacancy.” Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, ultimately filled the seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia.

“Our president’s 2016 campaign is currently under investigation – an investigation that has led to an ever-growing list of guilty pleas and criminal indictments. The balance of our nation’s highest court is at stake,” Carper said in a statement. “If Leader McConnell insists on rushing this nominee through before the American people can have their say in November, then Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy must be thoroughly vetted in the public eye.”