After weeks of controversy and bitter partisan battling, the Senate ultimately confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on October 6, 2018. At 50-48 for the confirmation, the vote was the tightest margin for a successful vote since 1881 and stayed almost entirely along party lines; only Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted against their parties. Previously, three women - Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick - accused Kavanaugh of committing sexual assault while in high school and college, leading to a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and a subsequent FBI investigation in the days leading up to the vote.
Contention marred Kavanaugh’s confirmation since his nomination on July 10th. Democrats raised concerns about what his confirmation and the resulting conservative majority would mean for future landmark decision, especially abortion rights and executive power. During his initial confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh refused to comment on either of these issues, evoking the so-called ‘Ginsberg Rule’ (named after current justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s similar argument during her own confirmation hearing) to avoid giving forecast into how he might act on the court. Several protestors interrupted the hearing, while others stood inside the Capitol dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood novel and popular television show The Handmaid’s Tale, which centers around a dystopian world where women are second-class citizens.
The first allegation of sexual assault surfaced in early September, with others following later in the month. Ford first sent her story in a letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who, in an effort to preserve privacy, kept the sender’s identity anonymous. Once the story became public, Ford revealed her identity to The Washington Post, shared more details of the assault, and corroborated her story with notes from her psychiatrist dating back to 2012 and 2013. Later, an article in The New Yorker revealed Ramirez’s accusations, and Michael Avenatti released Swetnick’s sworn affidavit against Kavanaugh.
In the aftermath of these allegations Kavanaugh’s confirmation quickly became a hot-button issue, and Pew Research Center and Washington Post polls both indicated that voters ranked a candidate’s view on the Supreme Court nomination among the most important issues when they voted. President Trump and other Republicans fiercely defended Kavanaugh, with Trump openly mocking Ford’s lapses in memory during a rally just before the confirmation vote, while Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the hearing “the most unethical sham I’ve seen in politics.”
Polls leading up to the confirmation, including a Gallup poll taken before the sexual assault allegations and a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in the days following the Ford allegations, showed Kavanaugh facing unprecedented public opposition. For the second time in the history of Gallup Supreme Court polling and the first time in the history of NBC/WSJ polls on the subject, more respondents opposed Kavanaugh than supported him, 38% to 34% in the NBC/WSJ poll and 42% to 39% in the Gallup poll. However, more recent polling from Gallup showed a rise in both support and opposition to 46% percent in favor and 45% against. In addition, a Washington Post-Schar School poll released two days after the confirmation ranked the Supreme Court as the most important issue for potential voters in battleground districts in the upcoming midterm election.
Contention marred Kavanaugh’s confirmation since his nomination on July 10th. Democrats raised concerns about what his confirmation and the resulting conservative majority would mean for future landmark decision, especially abortion rights and executive power. During his initial confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh refused to comment on either of these issues, evoking the so-called ‘Ginsberg Rule’ (named after current justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s similar argument during her own confirmation hearing) to avoid giving forecast into how he might act on the court. Several protestors interrupted the hearing, while others stood inside the Capitol dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood novel and popular television show The Handmaid’s Tale, which centers around a dystopian world where women are second-class citizens.
The first allegation of sexual assault surfaced in early September, with others following later in the month. Ford first sent her story in a letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who, in an effort to preserve privacy, kept the sender’s identity anonymous. Once the story became public, Ford revealed her identity to The Washington Post, shared more details of the assault, and corroborated her story with notes from her psychiatrist dating back to 2012 and 2013. Later, an article in The New Yorker revealed Ramirez’s accusations, and Michael Avenatti released Swetnick’s sworn affidavit against Kavanaugh.
In the aftermath of these allegations Kavanaugh’s confirmation quickly became a hot-button issue, and Pew Research Center and Washington Post polls both indicated that voters ranked a candidate’s view on the Supreme Court nomination among the most important issues when they voted. President Trump and other Republicans fiercely defended Kavanaugh, with Trump openly mocking Ford’s lapses in memory during a rally just before the confirmation vote, while Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the hearing “the most unethical sham I’ve seen in politics.”
Polls leading up to the confirmation, including a Gallup poll taken before the sexual assault allegations and a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in the days following the Ford allegations, showed Kavanaugh facing unprecedented public opposition. For the second time in the history of Gallup Supreme Court polling and the first time in the history of NBC/WSJ polls on the subject, more respondents opposed Kavanaugh than supported him, 38% to 34% in the NBC/WSJ poll and 42% to 39% in the Gallup poll. However, more recent polling from Gallup showed a rise in both support and opposition to 46% percent in favor and 45% against. In addition, a Washington Post-Schar School poll released two days after the confirmation ranked the Supreme Court as the most important issue for potential voters in battleground districts in the upcoming midterm election.
By Abby Adams-Smith