Senate[1] Democrats submitted a record number of written questions to President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, in a move Republicans said was the latest attempt to delay confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
The 1,278 questions are four times more than the number asked of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s first high court pick, last year. Indeed, it’s more than the combined total for every justice in U.S. history, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the committee, asked 241 questions herself — more than the total the Senate[2] as a whole asked of Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s court picks.
“Submitting this many written questions appears to be just one more effort to gum up the process. It’s unnecessary and dilatory, especially when many have already decided to vote against Judge Kavanaugh. What more do they need to know to vote ‘no’?” Mr. Grassley said.
Nominees are usually given a week to answer the written questions, which are supposed to be clarifications and follow-ups to the questions the judge answered in person during last week’s confirmation hearing.
Of the 1,287 questions submitted, the GOP asked just nine total — eight from Mr. Grassley and one from Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.
By contrast, Robert Bork, a Reagan nominee who was defeated by the ...
Senate[3] in perhaps the most controversial nomination process in history, was asked just 15 written questions.