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Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing continues Friday, with outside legal experts and witnesses expected to speak.
President Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh as his pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on July 9.
Read live updates on the hearing below (you may need to refresh the page to see the latest updates):
10:49 a.m. ET
Fifth on the panel: Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who said Kavanaugh would reverse decades of advancements for civil rights and the black community.
Sixth: Theodore Olson, former solicitor general for the George W. Bush administration, who praised Kavanaugh’s intelligence and independence.
Seventh: Alicia Baker of Indiana, who described herself as a “pro-life” Christian and who advocates for contraceptive access. Baker described her struggle to pay for birth control as a married woman, and said Kavanaugh does not respect the separation of church and state.
“What happens to those who face the impossible choice between the health care they need or paying for birth control?” she said, her voice nearly breaking.
― Sara Boboltz
10:34 a.m. ET
Third on the panel: Louisa Garry, Kavanaugh’s running buddy. Fourth: Elizabeth Weintraub, a senior advocate at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, which strongly opposes Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Weintraub spoke about living with a disability, an experience that has included being institutionalized against her will, and said Kavanaugh does not respect the importance of self-determination for the disabled.
― Sara Boboltz
10:25 a.m. ET
Up first on the panel of 10 witnesses — five for Republicans and five for Democrats — was Luke McCloud, a former clerk for Kavanaugh who spoke glowingly of his former boss and described his diverse staff.
Up second was Rochelle Garza, an immigration attorney who served as legal guardian to Jane Doe, the pregnant undocumented 17-year-old who wanted an abortion in Texas last fall. Kavanaugh was criticized for his opinion that Doe should consult with a third party before settling on the procedure. She had already complied with the abortion requirements laid out in Texas law.
“Her resolve was strong, and she was very certain about her decision to terminate her pregnancy,” Garza said.
Garza was with Doe when she eventually obtained the abortion. According to Garza, the teen did not understand why people she didn’t know were trying to influence her, saying, “I made my decision and that is between me and God.”
― Sara Boboltz
10:12 a.m. ET
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) returned to his argument from earlier in the week that Kavanaugh’s decisions benefit corporate interests roughly 90 percent of the time. The two American Bar Association panelists said they did not notice any “pattern” to the judge’s decisions.
― Sara Boboltz
9:49 a.m. ET
ABA evaluator John Tarpley says the organization’s review of Kavanaugh considered his “character and general reputation in the community.” About 500 people were interviewed; Kavanaugh received the ABA’s highest rating.
― Sara Boboltz
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