Everything You Need to Know About Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings

We hope you had a relaxing Labor Day weekend, because the nation's capital is kicking directly into high gear this morning with the confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the conservative D.C. circuit judge and the President's choice to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Kavanaugh is Donald Trump's second nominee to the highest Court in the land (Trump secured the first with Neil Gorsuch) and if confirmed, he will give conservatives a majority on the bench. Democrats, and women in particular, will be watching closely as fears about the overturn of Roe v. Wade have become all too real in an administration that vowed to tap all pro-life justices for the Court.

Here's everything you need to know about the confirmation path, how Kavanaugh will handle abortion rights questions, where to watch and more.

What is a confirmation hearing?

The process to becoming a justice on the United States Supreme Court is basically threefold. First, the President makes a nomination. Then the nominee and other witnesses testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who can then vote to send the nomination to the full Senate for the final confirmation vote. This sends the nominee to the bench officially.

Kavanaugh can be confirmed by a simple 51-vote majority.

How does it work and who exactly is involved?

The hearings take place in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is currently made up of 21 senators from both parties. (The committee chair is always held by the majority, in this case the Republicans.) Some notable names to look out for are Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-LA), ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Kamala Harris (D-CA). You can check out the full committee list here.

The proceedings will open with introductions from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman, and Lisa Blatt, a partner at a D.C. law firm who has argued cases before the Supreme Court and supports Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh will then make his own opening statement. The committee members will be the only ones allowed to question Kavanaugh and any of the witnesses presented by the majority and the minority over the course of the hearings. The Senators will take turns asking their own questions (there are time limits in place). However, the chairman acts as the moderator, so don't be surprised if he objects to Democratic lines of questioning that might get problematic for Kavanaugh.

How is Kavanaugh expected to handle questions on abortion rights—and specifically Roe v. Wade?

Opponents of Kavanaugh have been particularly concerned about his stance on the Supreme Court case that made abortion legal in the United States: Roe v. Wade. And there will surely be questions, especially from the Democrats on this issue. They will try to get him to state definitively whether or not he would overturn the decision. But, if we look to the most recent hearings for Justice Neil Gorsuch, the chances of that happening on the record are not incredibly likely.

Gorsuch danced around the issue to some degree when asked about his personal views. "A good judge will consider it as precedent of the Supreme Court, worthy of treatment of precedent as any other," Gorsuch said. "If I were to tell you which are my favorite precedents or which are my least favorite precedents…I would be tipping my hand and suggesting to litigants that I have already made up my mind about their cases."

However, Kavanaugh is likely to be questioned more heavily on the issue of women's reproductive rights since he will be the conservative tipping point in the balance of the court. It's a good time to remember that while Kavanaugh called Roe v. Wade "settled law," many Democrats and abortion rights advocates aren't convinced, citing his dissent in a case involving an undocumented teen who sought an abortion while in a federal detention center.

In an interview with Glamour shortly after his nomination, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) called Kavanaugh's record disqualifying. "I think he is more dangerous than any previous justice nominee because of his education and his experience and because of the track record he's laid out about what he intends to do," she said. "I think he is going to be very destructive to basic civil rights and civil liberties for millions of Americans."

What else should I keep an eye on?

There are exactly zero women on the Judiciary Committee on the Republican side of the aisle, but there are four Democrats—Harris, Klobuchar, Hirono, and Feinstein. Both Harris and Klobuchar's names are routinely coming up on lists of possible 2020 presidential candidates, along with Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren (who will not be questioners at the hearings). Gillibrand and Warren may use the hearings as a chance to stand out from their colleagues, in addition to trying to get relevant information from Kavanaugh and the witnesses.

Male committee members may be looking to do the same. We see you Cory Booker. And from the majority men, be on the lookout for the kind of right-leaning views that they may see as rallying their conservative base.

Where can I watch?

You can watch a livestream here starting at 9:15 AM Eastern on September 4.

Related Stories:

What Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court Nomination Could Mean for Your Abortion Rights

Black Women Stand to Lose the Most if Brett Kavanaugh Is Confirmed to the Supreme Court