“We’re limited as to how long, but certainly I think we’ll use every tool available to show the American people what is at stake here and what the deeply and profoundly important issues are,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Kavanaugh Confirmation Dems ponder using filibuster to slow Kavanaugh nomination

Senate Democrats can’t stop Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, but they can try their best to slow him down with an old-fashioned filibuster.

Liberal senators are hinting that someone in their caucus may mount a theatrical talking filibuster to draw attention to what they say is a rushed process as Kavanaugh faces three separate accusations of misconduct as a teenager and young man. They aren’t explicitly divulging their plans publicly, in order to keep Senate Republicans on their feet, but they’re not ruling anything out either.


“We’re limited as to how long, but certainly I think we’ll use every tool available to show the American people what is at stake here and what the deeply and profoundly important issues are,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

“You need a thorough investigation. And clearly Sen. McConnell is prepared to rush this thing through without that type of investigation. That’s not what the American people want,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “If the question is, should the Democrats do everything possible to make sure this nomination is not rushed through, the answer is absolutely.”

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Sanders himself gave an eight-hour speech in 2010 to protest tax cuts, and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) similarly protested the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch last year. And with the 2020 campaign season beginning in earnest in just a few months, there’s a prime opportunity for those two or a handful of other high-profile Democrats to take the Senate floor in outrage over Kavanaugh.

Since Senate Republicans’ need just 50 votes to confirm Supreme Court nominees now, Democrats can no longer simply require 60 votes as a way of impeding the GOP. But they can seize the floor before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) begins moving the nomination forward, and delay it as long as one of them can hold the floor — with assistance of the questions from other senators.

If Kavanaugh’s performance at his hearing locks up enough GOP support to move forward in committee on Friday, McConnell could begin setting up votes over the weekend. According to GOP senators and aides, the first procedural vote on Kavanaugh is likely to be Monday, and he could be confirmed on Tuesday — unless a Democrat delays things by a few hours with a filibuster. Republicans could move more quickly with consent from Democrats, but there’s no hope of that.

“It is really an outrage. It goes beyond partisan politics. You now have three women who have put their entire reputations on the line, whose lives have been radically altered, painfully. To simply have a vote on Friday, not investigate these very serious allegations is an outrage,” Sanders fumed.