WASHINGTON – The first Democratic senator, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, will meet on Monday with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, as he makes his rounds on Capitol Hill.
Manchin, whose vote is key to Kavanaugh's approval, is bucking his party by meeting with Kavanaugh, a U.S. appeals court judge.
He is among red-state Democrats up for re-election in November who are under intense pressure to consider Kavanaugh, even as progressive activists call on Democrats to do everything they can to oppose his Senate confirmation.
Manchin set up a webpage and email address to solicit feedback from West Virginians. He says he wants to give Kavanaugh's record a "fair and thorough" examination.
Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., said he would meet with Kavanaugh on Aug. 15.
Last year, Manchin, Donnelly and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., defected on the confirmation of another conservative Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch.
Democrats can’t afford defections if they want to keep Kavanaugh off the bench. Republicans control the Senate by a narrow 51-49 majority, which means Democrats will need Republicans to join them if they’re going to defeat Kavanaugh.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who was considered a possible swing vote, announced on Monday that he would support Kavanaugh.
"I believe he will carefully adhere to the Constitution and will take his job to protect individual liberty seriously," Paul said in a statement.
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