Democrat Doug Jones Faces Flak for Kavanaugh Stance
Alabama senator not yet decided on Supreme Court nominee
Democratic Sen. Doug Jones took flak from constituents Monday for withholding judgement on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“You have enough information,” a constituent said to the junior Alabama senator at a town hall meeting. “We love you. But you will vote no. And you have enough information to vote no.”
The constituent then threw a pair of stuffed lips at Jones, according to local media reports. Before police escorted her out of the high school auditorium, she added: “You can kiss my ass if you vote yes. You can kiss my ass if you vote yes. You can kiss my ass.”
Jones responded that he respected the woman’s passion.
Unlike many of his Democratic colleagues, Jones has not yet taken a stand on how he will vote on Kavanaugh. A freshman Democrat in a red state, Jones said pressure from both sides of the aisle “doesn’t make it real easy.” He promised political considerations would not affect his vote, according to AL.com.
Senate hearings to confirm Kavanaugh are set to begin Sept. 4, the Tuesday after Labor Day, so Republicans can confirm the prospective justice before the midterm elections.
ICYMI: Singing Their Support for High Court Nominee Kavanaugh
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Jones has raised objections to what he called the Republicans’ “rushing” to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. He said Monday that the National Archives should produce documents about the judge’s time as a staff secretary to President George Bush, as Democrats have requested.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has released about 103,000 pages of documents on Kavanaugh’s past work, including his tenure as a Bush White House lawyer. Senators also have access to more than 1 million pages of the federal judge’s communications and legal opinions.
The National Archives have declined to respond to Democrat-only requests for documents, saying they can only respond to requests signed by committee chairs.