Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been doing meetings with Senators in preparation for his confirmation hearing. Among those he has met with are moderate Democrats who are up for reelection this year and therefore might be open to voting for his confirmation. The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings on September 4. The very next day, arguments will begin in the case of Texas v. Azar, in which twenty states are challenging the continued validity of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) now that the “individual mandate” for people to buy insurance has been repealed. This timing will underscore the significant role that a new justice may play in determining the future of the ACA, which, along with abortion rights, are major issues in Senators’ decisions about whether to support the nominee. See Kavanaugh to meet with Collins and several Democrats Tuesday (Washington Examiner, 8/20/18). Another issue related to the nomination is how much background material about Judge Kavanaugh will be made available to Senators. See Democrats will use FOIA, ready to sue for Brett Kavanaugh documents (Washington Examiner, 8/16/18).
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