WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jon Tester has announced that he will vote against the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the nominee to serve a lifetime appointment on the United States Supreme Court.
“I have concerns that Judge Kavanaugh defended the PATRIOT Act instead of Montanans’ privacy. I have concerns about his support for more dark money in politics,” the Democrat said in a statement.
“I have concerns about who he believes is in charge of making personal health decisions. And I have deep concerns about the allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh,” Sen. Tester added.
“Unfortunately, Judge Kavanaugh couldn’t find time to discuss these concerns with me in person, so the only information I have is from what he said in his hearings. I’ll be voting against him,” the statement concluded.
According to Sen. Tester’s office, he “has received thousands of emails and calls from Montanans about Judge Kavanaugh, a majority of which were opposed to his nomination.”
My statement on the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court: https://t.co/VAFNn5Muee #mtpol pic.twitter.com/wz8uF0t9l5
— Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) September 28, 2018
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Matt Rosendale, the Republican nominee in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, released the following statement today after Jon Tester announced he will be voting no on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court:
“No one should be surprised by this. We always knew Jon Tester was never going to vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Time and time again, Tester stands with Chuck Schumer and Washington Democrats over the people of Montana. Tester has opposed both of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees and supported all of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, including Sonia Sotomayor who said, ‘The right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.’ We can’t trust Jon Tester on the Second Amendment. If you support President Trump and want to protect our Second Amendment Rights then the choice is clear this November.”
Sen. Tester remained undecided about Kavanaugh’s nomination on Thursday.
“Jon watched portions of the Judiciary Committee hearing today to hear from both witnesses. He finds Dr. Ford’s testimony credible and the accusations against Judge Kavanaugh deeply troubling. Jon will be taking time to review the full transcripts of the hearing as well as the Judge’s record and will continue to listen to the people of Montana about this lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land,” said Marnee Banks, a spokeswoman for the Montana Democrat.
The statement from Tester’s office came after the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh and a friend of holding her down and assaulting her more than three decades ago at a high school party in Maryland.
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Kavanaugh, a federal judge, must win a majority vote of the U.S. Senate for confirmation to the high court.
Matt Rosendale, the Republican state auditor seeking to unseat Tester, released a statement Thursday blasting Senate Democrats during the hearing.
“From the very beginning, Senate Democrats made the decision to oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination and do whatever it takes to keep him off the bench. Rather than seek the truth, they engaged in a smear process plain and simple. How Senate Democrats handled these allegations have been harmful not only to Judge Kavanaugh and his family but to Dr. Ford as well. This 11th-hour political circus to destroy a good man’s reputation and hurt his family is disgraceful. The Senate should immediately vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court,” Rosendale said in prepared.
Another Republican, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, reiterated his support for Kavanaugh following the hearings.
“I watched the entire hearing from gavel to gavel. I made it very clear from the beginning that I wanted to hear from both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh because of the seriousness of these allegations. And I thank both of them for coming before the Committee to be heard. But as I watched it today, I concluded that there is no corroborating evidence to support this serious allegation. Rather, this seems to be an orchestrated smear campaign intended to destroy Judge Kavanaugh at the eleventh hour. The Democrats turned this process into an embarrassing, political circus that will have lasting effects for generations to come. They should be ashamed. I look forward to casting my vote for Judge Kavanaugh,” Daines said in a prepared statement.
