Local lawmakers react to vote confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination
Missouri lawmakers and political groups reacted quickly after the senate voted 50-48 to confirm now Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court.
The vote happened around 3 p.m. Saturday. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt voted to confirm Kavanaugh, while Sen. Claire McCaskill voted no.
ABC 17 News has reached out to Blunt but have not heard back.
McCaskill’s office referred to a previous statement the senator made when she first said that she opposed the nomination in September. You can find that statement here.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson took to Twitter after Judge Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday evening.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/GovParsonMO/status/1048712113722740736″,”author_name”:”Governor Mike Parson”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/GovParsonMO”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;It’s great that the US Senate has confirmed Judge Kavanaugh to SCOTUS. His confirmation is welcomed news to the great state of Missouri. &#lt;br&#gt;&#lt;br&#gt;Thanks to President Trump, America is now one step closer to a Supreme Court that reflects our values and upholds the rule of law. &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/UCRn1KryYE”&#gt;https://t.co/UCRn1KryYE&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/GovParsonMO/status/1048712113722740736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 6, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler sent ABC 17 News the following statement following Saturday’s confirmation:
“The confirmation process of Judge Kavanaugh has been a divisive and politically difficult chapter in American politics. Accusations of sexual misconduct are very serious, and the Senate has done its due diligence in pausing and further investigating these claims. An additional FBI investigation was requested and has since occurred, once again finding no evidence of the claims against Judge Kavanaugh.
“What should have been a professional, non-partisan approach to investigating serious claims was turned into an embarrassing display of partisan vitriol by Senators determined to oppose any nominee of President Trump. Judge Kavanaugh has been a highly distinguished judge for decades, and his record has been thoroughly vetted and reviewed. The Supreme Court has reconvened for its fall session and is short one justice – it is time to make the court whole. I support the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh and am pleased the Senate has acted accordingly.”
Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves sent ABC 17 News the following statement hours before Kavanaugh was confirmed. “Judge Kavanaugh is an honorable man who will serve as an impartial justice on the Supreme Court.”
After Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Graves took to Twitter:
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/MOGOP_Chairman/status/1048681920861749249″,”author_name”:”Todd Graves”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/MOGOP_Chairman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Justice Kavanaugh has shown that he is fair, independent, and committed to the rule of law. Our country is well served by this addition to the Supreme Court. &#lt;br&#gt;&#lt;br&#gt;Read my full statement below. &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/oYtXikLEZr”&#gt;pic.twitter.com/oYtXikLEZr&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Todd Graves (@MOGOP_Chairman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/MOGOP_Chairman/status/1048681920861749249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 6, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer said in a statement:
“I’m proud of my Senate colleagues for adhering to the American ideals of fairness and due process throughout this nomination. Congratulations to Justice Brett Kavanaugh on his confirmation to United States Supreme Court,” said Congressman Luetkemeyer. “Based on his exemplary background and qualifications, Justice Kavanaugh will uphold our conservative American values for years to come.”
Attorney General Josh Hawley and US Senate Candidate also took to Twitter immediately following Saturday’s 50 – 48 vote.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1048669593911394304″,”author_name”:”Josh Hawley”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/HawleyMO”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed. &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/clairecmc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@clairecmc&#lt;/a&#gt; votes NO. Her refusal to back this pro-Constitution judge & her support for the disgraceful smear campaign against him says just how far she is willing to go to seize power & how eager she is to overturn the 2016 election &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/mosen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;#mosen&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1048669593911394304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 6, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
Missouri House Representative Sara Walsh posted to Twitter:
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/SaraForMissouri/status/1048649970851762181″,”author_name”:”Sara Walsh”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/SaraForMissouri”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;As a member of the &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/MissouriGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@MissouriGOP&#lt;/a&#gt; State Committee (19th Senatorial District committeewoman), I stand in support of Judge &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/BrettKavanaugh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@BrettKavanaugh&#lt;/a&#gt;. The committee unanimously supports his nomination and Missourians throughout my district support him as well. &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCOTUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;#SCOTUS&#lt;/a&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/RoyBlunt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@RoyBlunt&#lt;/a&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/clairecmc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@clairecmc&#lt;/a&#gt; &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/1ZWsHBx69p”&#gt;https://t.co/1ZWsHBx69p&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Sara Walsh (@SaraForMissouri) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/SaraForMissouri/status/1048649970851762181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 6, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
We will continue to update this story as more lawmakers respond to Saturday’s vote.
