Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh declared fervently at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday the court "must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution." But that was at the end of a marathon day marked by rancorous exchanges between Democrats and Republicans, including dire Democratic fears that he would be President Donald Trump's advocate on the high court. 
 
 The week of hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination began with a sense of inevitability that the 53-year-old appellate judge eventually will be confirmed, perhaps in time for the first day of the new term, Oct. 1, and little more than a month before congressional elections. 
 
 However, the first of at least four days of hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee began with partisan quarreling over the nomination and persistent protests from members of the audience, followed by their arrests. 
 
 Strong Democratic opposition to Trump's nominee reflects the political stakes for both parties in advance of the November elections, Robert Mueller's investigation of Trump's 2016 campaign and the potentially pivotal role Kavanaugh could play in moving the court to the right. 
 
 Democrats, including several senators poised for 2020 presidential bids, tried to block the proceedings in a dispute over Kavanaugh records withheld by the White House. Republicans in turn accused the Democrats of turning the hearing into a circus. 
 
 Trump jumped into the fray late in the day, saying on Twitter that Democrats were "looking to inflict pain and embarrassment" on Kavanaugh. 
 
 The president's comment followed the statements of Democratic senators who warned that Trump was, in the words of Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, "selecting a justice on the Supreme Court who potentially will cast a decisive vote in his own case." 
 
 In Kavanaugh's own statement at the end of more than seven hours of arguing, the federal appeals judge spoke repeatedly about the importance of an independent judiciary and the need to keep the court above partisan politics, common refrains among Supreme Court nominees that had added salience in the fraught political atmosphere of the moment. 
 
 With his wife, two children and parents sitting behind him, Kavanaugh called himself a judge with a straightforward judicial philosophy. 
 
 "A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent," he said. 
 
 Kavanaugh also promised to be "a team player on the Team of Nine." 
 
 The Supreme Court is often thought of as nine separate judges, rather than a team. And on the most contentious cases, the court tends to split into conservative and liberal sides. But justices often do say they seek consensus, and they like to focus on how frequently they reach unanimous decisions. 
 
 Barring a major surprise over the next two days of questioning, the committee is expected to vote along party lines to send Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate. 
 
 Majority Republicans can confirm Kavanaugh without any Democratic votes, though they'll have little margin for error. 
 
 "There are battles worth fighting, regardless of the outcome," Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said in an unsparing opening statement that criticized Kavanaugh's judicial opinions and the Senate process that Democrats said had deprived them of access to records of important chunks of Kavanaugh's time as an aide to President George W. Bush. 
 
 Democrats raised objections from the moment Chairman Chuck Grassley gaveled the committee to order. One by one, Democrats, including Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, all potential presidential contenders, demanded that Republicans delay the hearing. They railed against the unusual vetting process by Republicans that failed to include documents from three years Kavanaugh worked in the Bush administration, and 100,000 more pages withheld by the Trump White House. Some 42,000 pages were released on the evening before of the hearing. 
 
 "We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman, with this hearing," said Harris at the top of proceedings. Grassley disagreed. 
 
 As protesters repeatedly interrupted the session, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is fighting for his own re-election in Texas, apologized to Kavanaugh for the spectacle he said had less to do about the judge's legal record than Trump in the White House. 
 
 "It is about politics," said Cruz. "It is about Democratic senators re-litigating the 2016 election." 
 
 The Republicans' slim majority in the Senate was bolstered during the hearing by the announcement from Arizona that Gov. Doug Ducey was appointing Jon Kyl, the former senator, to fill the seat held by the late Sen. John McCain. When Kyl is sworn in, Republicans will hold 51 of the 100 seats. 
 
 Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are the only two Republicans even remotely open to voting against Kavanaugh, though neither has said she would do so. Abortion rights supporters are trying to appeal to those senators, who both favor abortion access. 
 
 Kavanaugh sat silently and impassively for most of the day, occasionally sipping water and taking notes on senators' points. Besides his family, he was accompanied by outgoing White House Counsel Don McGahn and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. 
 
 Several dozen protesters, shouting one by one, disrupted the hearing at several points and were removed by police. "This is a mockery and a travesty of justice," shouted one woman. "Cancel Brett Kavanaugh!" Others shouted against the president or to protect abortion access. "Senators, we need to stop this," called out one. 
 
 As patience thinned and tempers flared, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, denounced what he called the "mob rule." Struggling to speak over protesters, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said: "These people are so out of line they shouldn't be in the doggone room." 
 
 But Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Kavanaugh the opposition being shown at the hearing reflected the concern many Americans have over Trump's "contempt of the rule of law" and the judge's own expansive views on executive power. 
 
 "It's that president who's decided you are his man," Durbin said. "Are people nervous about this concerned about this? Of course they are." 
 
 The panel's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, described the hearing's "very unique circumstances." 
 
 "Not only is the country deeply divided politically, we also find ourselves with a president who faces his own serious problems," she said referring to investigations surrounding Trump. "So it's this backdrop that this nominee comes into." ||||| CSPAN Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh 
 
 Here are excerpts of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s prepared opening remarks for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as released by the White House. 
 
 Also see: Day 1 of Kavanaugh nomination hearing — live video and updates. 
 
 Over the past eight weeks, I have witnessed first-hand the Senate’s deep appreciation for the vital role of the American Judiciary. 
 
 At the White House on the night of the announcement, the President and Mrs. Trump were very gracious to my daughters, my wife, and my parents. My family will always cherish that night. 
 
 To me, Justice Kennedy is a mentor, a friend, and a hero. As a Member of the Court, he was a model of civility and collegiality. He fiercely defended the independence of the Judiciary. And he was a champion of liberty. 
 
 A good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy. … I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge. 
 
 I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland. 
 
 If confirmed to the Court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine. ||||| Follow Day 2 of the Kavanaugh hearing here: Trump’s Supreme Court nominee faces Senate grilling 
 
 The confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh launched Tuesday as a bitter political brawl, with loud objections from Democratic senators, the arrests of dozens of protesters and questions even from some Republicans about how Kavanaugh would separate himself from President Trump, the man who chose him. 
 
 But GOP senators mostly calmly defended Kavanaugh from what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) called the Shakespearean nature of the hearing — “sound and fury, signifying nothing” — confident that there were no defections from the solid Republican support Kavanaugh needs to be confirmed as the Supreme Court’s 114th justice. 
 
 The 53-year-old judge, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, sat impassively for nearly seven hours of senators’ statements before speaking for less than 20 minutes. Senators plan to begin questioning him Wednesday morning. 
 
 “The Supreme Court must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution,” Kavanaugh said. “The justices on the Supreme Court do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. They do not caucus in separate rooms. If confirmed to the court, I would be part of a team of nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the team of nine.” 
 
 No such conciliation was apparent on the Senate Judiciary Committee — or from the White House. 
 
 [The story behind the withheld documents of the Kavanaugh hearing] 
 
 “The Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the future Justice of the Supreme Court are truly a display of how mean, angry, and despicable the other side is,” Trump tweeted. “They will say anything, and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment to one of the most highly renowned jurists to ever appear before Congress. So sad to see!” 
 
 The chairman’s opening remarks were delayed for nearly an hour and a half as Democratic senators sought to cut off the hearings, raising an uproar over a last-minute document dump sent to the Judiciary Committee late Monday encompassing more than 42,000 pages from the nominee’s tenure in the George W. Bush White House. 
 
 Democrats questioned Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and even his honesty. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has said he feels he was misled by the judge at his previous confirmation hearing for the lower court, pointedly told Kavanaugh he would question him about that “when you are under oath.” 
 
 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) referred to the Republican-appointed conservatives on the court headed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. as the “Roberts Five” and said the justices were always looking for ways to benefit the “big fundraisers and influencers of the Republican Party.” 
 
 Cruz said his Democratic colleagues were trying to re-litigate the results of the 2016 election. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who noted that he had voted for President Barack Obama’s nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, was equally blunt. 
 
 “You had a chance and you lost,” Graham told Democrats. “You can’t lose the election and want to pick judges.” 
 
 [Hours before Kavanaugh hearings, Bush lawyer releases 42,000 pages of documents] 
 
 Barring any major last-minute surprises, Kavanaugh appears to be on track to be confirmed by the end of the month. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said a committee vote is likely to occur Sept. 20. 
 
 That would allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to tee up votes on the floor confirming Kavanaugh during the last week of September. The Supreme Court’s new term begins Oct. 1. 
 
 But Tuesday’s opening session indicated that the public fight over his nomination will be intense. 
 
 It was, Grassley said later, “a bad start.” Democratic senators repeatedly interrupted Grassley over the document issue, and by the end of the day more than 70 protesters had been arrested. Their theme: The Republicans are hiding something by withholding information. 
 
 “This is the most incomplete, most partisan, least transparent vetting for any Supreme Court nominee I have ever seen,” said Leahy. “And I have seen more of those than any person serving in the Senate today.” 
 
 Another focus was Trump himself, who has frequently leveled attacks against the judiciary and law enforcement. 
 
 Two Republican senators — Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) — praised Kavanaugh personally and professionally, but raised questions about Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department and how Kavanaugh would handle cases involving presidential power. 
 
 In a tweet Monday, Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the recent indictments of two Republican members of Congress on corruption charges and for the timing, so close to the House midterm elections. 
 
 “That is why a lot of people are concerned about this administration and why they want to ensure that our institutions hold,” Flake said. He added that “many of the questions you will get on the other side of the aisle and from me” will center on separation of powers. 
 
 The protesters, who were predominantly women, repeatedly heckled the senators and Kavanaugh, arguing that installing Trump’s second pick to the Supreme Court would irreparably end access to abortion and dismantle the Affordable Care Act. 
 
 Democrats have charged that documents on Kavanaugh’s career have been withheld without justification, particularly those from his tenure as a Bush staffer. Senators have reviewed nearly 200,000 pages that cannot be disclosed to the public, and the Trump administration is withholding an additional 100,000 pages from Congress, claiming that those documents are covered by presidential privilege. 
 
 Kavanaugh, appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by Bush, served the president in the White House Counsel’s Office from 2001 to 2003 and as staff secretary from 2003 to 2006. 
 
 Tuesday’s proceedings brought to the surface years of anger over judicial nominees. Democrats invoked the name of Merrick Garland, who was nominated by Obama in 2016 to fill the Supreme Court seat formerly held by the late justice Antonin Scalia and who was denied a hearing by Senate Republicans. 
 
 In his remarks, Kavanaugh praised Garland, the chief judge on the appeals court on which they both serve, as “superb” — a line likely to further rile Democrats. 
 
 Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said the Democrats’ behavior would lead them to be “held in contempt of court,” prompting a chorus of quiet boos and “Oh come on” that echoed throughout the hearing room. He later said the hearing had turned into “mob rule.” 
 
 When it was his turn, Kavanaugh told senators that he would be “a neutral and impartial arbiter” if confirmed. 
 
 “I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences,” Kavanaugh said. “I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.” 
 
 Throughout his remarks, Kavanaugh noted his appreciation for the strides that women and girls have made professionally and in sports. Kavanaugh’s critics have said his elevation to the Supreme Court would be detrimental to women’s reproductive rights and health-care options, and his emphasis on the strong women in his life seemed designed to counter those concerns. 
 
 He talked about his record as a judge of hiring female law clerks and at length about coaching his daughters’ basketball teams, listing by name each player and noting the real-world impact of Title IX. 
 
 “I see that law’s legacy every night when I walk into my house as my daughters are getting back from lacrosse, or basketball, or hockey practice,” he said. 
 
 In a preview of the tough questions Kavanaugh will face Wednesday, Democratic senators said they would press the judge on his views about abortion, gun control and executive power. 
 
 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) addressed Kavanaugh about abortion. The question, she said, is not whether he believes that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is “settled law,” as he has told other senators, but “whether you believe it is the correct law.” 
 
 Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said he would resurrect a controversy from Kavanaugh’s 2006 confirmation battle over whether he was involved in developing Bush-era policy on the treatment of terrorism suspects. Kavanaugh worked as a White House associate counsel at the time that Bush developed his policy, laid out in what became known as the “torture memo.” 
 
 As a nominee for the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh testified that he was “not involved.” 
 
 Later, Kavanaugh’s denial came into question when The Washington Post revealed that he had participated in a White House Counsel’s Office meeting in which he was asked his opinion about how Kennedy — for whom he had clerked — was likely to view the matter. 
 
 In response, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) defended Kavanaugh and said the suggestion that the judge had “misled this committee in any way is absurd.” ||||| Things were charged enough that at one point Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) accused his Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee of degrading the hearing to “mob rule.” Cornyn was rebuffed shortly after by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who disagreed with the assessment and noted that if mob rule had indeed prevailed, ultimate blame would lie with the chairman. ||||| Tweet with a location 
 
 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201809/3444/1155968404_5830669495001_5830646952001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Democrats create chaos at Kavanaugh hearing Chuck Schumer helped coordinate the Democrats' strategy, but Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley refused to hold a vote on adjournment. 
 
 Democrats sought to take control of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday, mounting a failed bid to delay President Donald Trump's nominee and interrupting Republicans dozens of times as multiple activists on the left disrupted the proceedings. 
 
 The volley of Democratic interjections began after Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) attempted to open the high-stakes four-day hearing. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) helped coordinate that strategy despite not serving on the Judiciary panel, convening a call with the committee's minority members over the weekend, according to a source familiar with the planning. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 Grassley, attempting to speak over Democrats as they sought a vote on a motion to adjourn the hearing, acknowledged that "maybe it’s not going exactly the way that the minority would like to have it go." One after another, Democrats repeatedly interrupted Grassley in the opening minutes, breaking into their protests to allow Kavanaugh to speak before resuming their push to stop the process until they can examine more records. 
 
 But the display of disruption, galvanizing as it was to Kavanaugh’s liberal critics, ultimately did little but delay a day of partisan jockeying that closed, more than seven hours later, with the nominee telling senators that “I do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences.” 
 
 Grassley said at the end of the hearing that he’s preparing to schedule a committee vote on Kavanaugh for Sept. 13, paving the way for a final floor vote on confirmation before the new Supreme Court term opens next month. Democrats are expected to exercise their procedural right to delay that by a week, at a minimum. 
 
 Senators got more than 42,000 pages of documents late Monday night on a "committee confidential" basis, a designation that prevents their public release and likely stops Democrats from citing them during the hearing. Even before that latest release, however, Democrats already had begun discussing the protest they would mount Tuesday. 
 
 The move appeared to get under the skin of some in the GOP. After repeated interruptions from anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who were escorted from the hearing room by police, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested that Democrats would be held in "contempt of court" — drawing quick pushback from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — and likened the moment to “mob rule.” 
 
 Grassley flatly ruled out Democrats’ repeated calls for an adjournment vote, but the fireworks at the start of the hearing already had set the tone for a raucous week to come. The White House sent a tally of the number of times each Democrat had interrupted Grassley during the first hour of the hearing, for a total of 44 interjections. 
 
 Kavanaugh is expected to ultimately be confirmed, with the Senate headed toward a return to 51-49 GOP control following the selection Tuesday of former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) — who guided Trump’s nominee through the confirmation gantlet — to replace the late Sen. John McCain. But Democratic senators are still readying an intense volley of questions for the 53-year-old appeals court judge, focusing on his stance toward an ongoing challenge to Obamacare, the future of Roe v. Wade and his already-expressed skepticism about criminal investigations of sitting presidents. 
 
 Democrats have offered few indications that they're prepared to attempt a formal boycott of the Judiciary hearing to channel their ire over the withholding of hundreds of thousands of pages of Kavanaugh-related documents from public release. 
 
 "We will attend the meetings. We will question assiduously. But we want to express our concerns,” the panel’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, told reporters alongside her fellow minority-party members at a gathering on the Supreme Court steps early Tuesday. 
 
 Republicans have touted the release of more than 290,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time in George W. Bush's White House counsel's office, noting that the volume of public disclosure has dwarfed that for previous Supreme Court picks. But Democrats have been infuriated by the GOP’s omission of any document requests governing Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary to then-President Bush, tension that was stoked last week when the Trump administration cited executive privilege to shield more than 100,000 pages of records, angering the minority. 
 
 After Democrats’ interruptions cooled, Kavanaugh focused his opening statement on his family and friends as well as the support he’s provided to others as a constitutional law professor and volunteer. The judge, who also played a prominent role in drafting the Starr Report on former President Bill Clinton, described himself as “especially grateful to the dean who first hired me” at Harvard Law School — Democratic-tapped Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. 
 
 Trump’s nominee described himself as a player on the high court's “Team of Nine” and a “neutral and impartial arbiter,” if he wins confirmation in the coming weeks. 
 
 Liberal activists mounted their own show of force against Kavanaugh throughout Tuesday, the first of four days that are expected to stretch to marathon length. Women dressed in the red-and-white garb made famous by the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" gathered outside the hearing room, demonstrating against Kavanaugh's potential to rule against abortion rights. 
 
 Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was among several committee members in both parties acknowledging the difficulty of speaking over the demonstrators, saying that “we ought to have this loudmouth removed” after a woman cried out about protecting pre-existing conditions. 
 
 Capitol Police charged 61 protesters with disorderly conduct, a spokeswoman said. An additional nine were charged with obstruction or "crowding." 
 
 Kavanaugh notably name-checked Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court who was stonewalled by Republican senators ahead of the 2016 election. Garland is currently a colleague of Kavanaugh's on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 
 
 "I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland," Kavanaugh said. That gesture was bound to fall on deaf ears with Democrats who view the entire confirmation process as unnecessarily hurried to get Trump a second seat on the high court in two years. 
 
 “When Justice [Antonin] Scalia died, Republicans refused to even meet — even a meeting in their office — with President Obama’s nominee and held the seat open for one year,” Feinstein said in her opening statement. “Now, with a Republican in the White House, they’ve changed their position.” 
 
 While Democrats recognize their limited power to stop Kavanaugh's nomination, they're still using the confirmation process to score political points, especially given the stakes. Kavanaugh would likely bend the court significantly to the right, given that he's replacing retired justice Anthony Kennedy, who long served as a swing vote. 
 
 ||||| The start of Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh erupted in chaos as Democrats demanded an adjournment and protesters interrupted with repeated shouts and were dragged out by police. 
 
 As Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) began his opening statements, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) interrupted to ask that the hearing be postponed so senators could review 42,000 pages of documents about Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush White House that were dumped late Monday. 
 
 “We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman,” Harris insisted. 
 
 “You are out of order,” Grassley responded. 
 
 The Democrats’ objections were greeted by applause from activists in the audience, while some rose to scream objections to Kavanaugh. 
 
 They were removed by police, one at a time. 
 
 “This is the first confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice I’ve seen [subject] to mob rule,” fumed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). 
 
 According to Capitol Police, 61 individuals were arrested inside the hearing and nine outside. 
 
 Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) criticized Democrats who have 2020 presidential aspirations for grandstanding for the cameras. 
 
 “They want that coveted TV clip. Frankly, I wish we could drop all that nonsense,” he said. 
 
 In the morning, Kavanaugh introduces wife Ashley and daughters Liza and Margaret. 
 
 But later, as the protests heated up, Kavanaugh’s daughters were escorted out, according to Fox News. 
 
 “I’m sorry your daughters had to endure the political circus of this morning,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). 
 
 The kids returned later to hear former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Lisa Blatt, a liberal Democrat and appellate lawyer, argue for Kavanaugh’s confirmation. 
 
 Kavanaugh finally got a chance to address the committee seven hours after the hearing began. 
 
 “A good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy,” he said. 
 
 “In our independent Judiciary, the Supreme Court is the last line of defense for the separation of powers, and the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. 
 
 “The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution … If confirmed to the court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine.” 
 
 Democrats delivered long monologues complaining about a lack of transparency and raising concerns that Kavanaugh would roll back abortion rights, gun control and shield President Trump from criminal prosecution. 
 
 As Kavanaugh spoke, Trump took to Twitter to denounce the Democrats trying to block his nominee. 
 
 “The Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the future Justice of the Supreme Court are truly a display of how mean, angry, and despicable the other side is. They will say anything, and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment to one of the most highly renowned jurists to ever appear before Congress. So sad to see!” he wrote. ||||| Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill... (Associated Press) 
 
 Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press) 
 
 Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press) Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Spoiling for a fight, some Democratic senators weighing 2020 presidential campaigns seized upon the opening moments of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday in a show of force aimed at countering President Donald Trump. 
 
 One by one, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey, demanded that Republicans delay Kavanaugh's hearing after a last-minute release of more than 40,000 pages of documents and the withholding of more than 100,000 more. 
 
 The Democrats' coordinated showdown with the committee's chairman, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, served as a theatrical preview of what is expected to be a wild, unpredictable 2020 campaign against Trump, who has stoked outrage among Democratic activists and is expected to fuel an unusually large field of challengers. 
 
 The hearing showed the degree to which the Senate could be the testing ground of resistance among Democrats who are prepared to fight the Republican president's agenda in a field without an obvious front-runner. And it harkened back to how Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democratic senators battled President George W. Bush's administration before launching presidential bids of their own in the 2008 contest. 
 
 Grassley hadn't even introduced Kavanaugh by name when Harris interjected, objecting to the late Monday night release of Kavanaugh's documents. Harris has created a number of viral moments with her tough questioning of witnesses during her first term and quickly noted lawmakers hadn't had a chance to "review or read or analyze" the papers. 
 
 "You're out of order. I'll proceed," Grassley responded, banging his gavel. 
 
 Said Harris: "We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman, with this hearing." 
 
 As Grassley tried to introduce Kavanaugh, Klobuchar called for the hearing to be postponed as the two senators attempted to talk over each other. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., jumped in, asking that the hearing be adjourned, prompting loud cheers and applause in the room. 
 
 Kavanaugh, a veteran judge and a former aide to Bush, sat silently as the spectacle unfolded. 
 
 Booker then appealed to Grassley's "sense of decency and integrity," pushing for more transparency in the hearing. 
 
 "We are rushing through this process in a way that is unnecessary," Booker said. 
 
 The three Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are considering whether to enter the presidential campaign following the November midterm elections along with other Senate Democrats not on the panel, such as Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. 
 
 Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who unsuccessfully battled Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, also is weighing another campaign. 
 
 The field could include a number of Democratic governors, members of Congress, mayors and political newcomers along with familiar faces such as former Vice President Joe Biden, who appeared at a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh on Monday as he tests the waters. 
 
 Trump, even with his party facing a challenging midterm election, has relished the prospect of facing off against Democrats when the presidential campaign begins in earnest next year. 
 
 The president didn't immediately respond to the Democrats' opposition to Kavanaugh on Tuesday. But he dismissed on Twitter the possibility of another prospective candidate, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee. 
 
 "I should only be so lucky," Trump tweeted on Monday, adding, "although the field that is currently assembling looks really good - FOR ME!" 
 
 Republicans accused Democrats of politicizing the hearing and avoiding substance because they lack the votes to derail the nomination. 
 
 "It is about Democratic senators trying to re-litigate the 2016 election and just as importantly, working to begin litigating the 2020 presidential election," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the 2016 nomination. 
 
 During the hearing, the room was filled by demonstrators shouting at Kavanaugh, a reminder of the bitterness against Trump's presidency and Democrats' outrage over the treatment of Merrick Garland, Obama's Supreme Court nominee, who was denied a hearing last year by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before Trump's election. 
 
 Minority Democrats are unable to delay a vote on Kavanaugh, making the confirmation process more of a demonstration of the party's warnings that he could help overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion, or undermine health care or other Democratic priorities. 
 
 Democrats are expected to press Kavanaugh on the issues when questioning begins on Wednesday. 
 
 ___ 
 
 On Twitter follow Ken Thomas at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC ||||| • Republicans praised Kavanaugh and expressed confidence he will be confirmed. 
 
 Republicans used their opening statements to praise Judge Kavanaugh as highly qualified and a good man. They accused Democrats of hypocrisy and argued that his 12 years of appeals court rulings, which are public, are the best way to evaluate what kind of Supreme Court justice he would be. And, secure in the knowledge that they control the Senate and can confirmed the judge with a simple majority vote, Republicans expressed confidence that however unruly things get, the Senate will ultimately approve his appointment. 
 
 • The hearing foreshadowed likely Democratic frustration in coming days. 
 
 Democrats signaled in their opening statements that they intend to press Judge Kavanaugh to explain in detail what he thinks about contentious legal questions, especially whether the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision was rightly decided — an issue that could illuminate whether he views it as settled precedent or vulnerable to overturning. But Republicans like Mr. Grassley said it would be inappropriate for him to indicate how he might rule on anything that might come before the court in the future. In his prepared opening statement, Judge Kavanaugh laid the groundwork for disclaiming that he will bring any ideological lens to interpreting ambiguous constitutional text, invoking the ideal of a judge as an “umpire — a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy.” 
 
 The hearing is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, starting with questioning by Mr. Grassley and by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking Democrat. Each senator on the committee will have 30 minutes in the first round of questioning and 20 in a second round, which is expected to wrap up on Thursday. Judge Kavanaugh would then be excused, and the senators will question a panel of legal experts who support and oppose his confirmation. 
 
 Can’t get enough? The rest of our dispatches from the day are below.
– One word keeps showing up in coverage of the first day of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing: "chaos." (See here, here, and here.) Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas had a stronger phrase: "mob rule," while Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois heard the "noise of democracy." Democrats were staging a unified front to try to keep the hearing from proceeding, angry about withheld documents from Kavanaugh's past, including his tenure in the George W. Bush White House. The release of more than 40,000 documents Monday night seems to have only made things worse, with Democrats arguing that it was humanly impossible to review them in time. Despite the Democrats' protests, Senate Judiciary Committee Charles Grassley says he will not stop the hearing, which is expected to last four days, reports Politico. Other developments: Arrests: Capitol Police arrested 22 protesters on disorderly conduct charges during the morning, reports the Washington Post. Handmaid's Tale: Women dressed as characters from the Handmaid's Tale were among the protesters outside the hearing room, notes the Huffington Post. See an image here. The costumes illustrate their concerns that Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court will be a setback for women's rights. Roe v. Wade: When the direct questions finally begin, Democrats are expected to press Kavanaugh on whether he'd be willing to overturn the ruling that legalized abortion, reports the New York Times. The question, said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is not whether he believes that Roe v. Wade is “settled law,” but “whether you believe it is the correct law.” The judge's views on executive power and gun control also were expected to be examined. 2 views: The interruptions and chaos are about "Democratic senators trying to re-litigate the 2016 election and just as importantly, working to begin litigating the 2020 presidential election," said Republican Ted Cruz, per the AP. But Democrat Patrick Leahy wondered, “What are we trying to hide? Why are we rushing?” Excerpts: Read excerpts of Kavanaugh's eventual opening statement here via MarketWatch. "A good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy," Kavanaugh is to say. "I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge."