Dem Senator Jeff Merkley to Seek Injunction to Stop Kavanaugh Vote

By Elana Schor, Politico

26 September 18

en. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Wednesday will announce that he's seeking an injunction in federal court designed to stop a final vote on Brett Kavanaugh, asserting an obstruction of his constitutional duty to advise and consent on nominees.

Merkley's still-pending filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes as Senate Republicans vow to push ahead with a vote on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee in the coming days — and hours before a landmark hearing slated with Christine Blasey Ford, who has alleged a decades-old sexual assault by Kavanaugh.

Merkley's bid for an injunction hinges on the Senate's constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on nominees and charges that he's been prevented from fulfilling that due to the withholding of records on Kavanaugh's past service in the George W. Bush administration.

“The events of the past ten days have only underscored how critical it is that the Senate conduct a careful and comprehensive review of a nominee before giving its consent,” Merkley told POLITICO in a statement.

“The unprecedented obstruction of the Senate’s advice and consent obligation is an assault on the separation of powers and a violation of the Constitution. The President and Mitch McConnell want to ram through this nomination come hell or high water, without real advice or informed consent by the Senate, but that’s just not how our Constitution works.”

Ford's allegation is not directly cited in Merkley's filing, which is unlikely to succeed in stopping the vote. But the entrance of the Oregonian, who's indicated interest in a 2020 presidential bid, into the Kavanaugh debate further heightens the politically charged atmosphere shrouding the nomination. Merkley delivered a 15-hour floor speech last year in an ultimately failed bid to stop the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.