A group representing 100,000 congregations and 45 million churchgoers across an array of Christian denominations in the U.S. has called for the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be withdrawn.
The National Council of Churches statement said, “Judge Kavanaugh exhibited extreme partisan bias and disrespect towards certain members of the committee and thereby demonstrated that he possesses neither the temperament nor the character essential for a member of the highest court in our nation.” The statement also alleged misstatements and “outright falsehoods” in his testimony.
A later addition to the statement, as reported by the Religion News Service, added a call for a full and “unhindered investigation into allegations of sexual assault.”
Only the president or Kavanaugh himself could withdraw the nomination, while the Senate could reject him in the confirmation process by a majority vote. The confirmation could also never be brought to a vote, though that’s an unlikely outcome.
The National Council of Churches represents congregations across 40 denominations, including most of the major Protestant and Eastern Orthodox divisions of faith. It has a statement of creed that advances social policy, such as equal rights, worker protection, just immigration, and multilateral diplomacy.
The organization also cited an array of policy differences it believes Kavanaugh is on the wrong side of, including many progressive issues, such as climate change, voting rights, and “racial and gender justice.” These same positions are favored by many conservatives, especially the majority of Senate Republicans.
Only three Senate GOP votes appear to remain in play: Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Two Democratic senators up for re-election in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016 may also be in action: Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitcamp of North Dakota.