© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
IN-Sen: Braun slams Donnelly for SCOTUS 'obstruction' — this is what Donnelly says
Indiana Senate candidate Mike Braun (right, pictured with President Donald Trump) castigates incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) (left) over his failure to meet with Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images)

IN-Sen: Braun slams Donnelly for SCOTUS 'obstruction' — this is what Donnelly says

Mike Braun, Republican candidate for Indiana Senate, castigated his opponent, incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) over failing to meet with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

However, Donnelly said that Braun's attack is premature, and that he plans to meet with Kavanaugh on Aug. 15.

Donnelly was one of three Democrats who voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first nomination to the Supreme Court, and is widely expected to be a swing vote in the upcoming nomination fight.

What did Braun say?

According to Breitbart, Braun has taken issue with the fact that Donnelly has yet to meet with Kavanaugh since Trump's nomination of Kavanaugh, despite previously having met with Gorsuch.

According to NBC News, Donnelly vowed that he would give Kavanaugh the same fair shake as he did Gorsuch.

After Trump nominated Kavanaugh, Donnelly said, "I will take the same approach as I have previously for a Supreme Court vacancy. Following the president’s announcement, I will carefully review and consider the record and qualifications of Judge Brett Kavanaugh."

Josh Kelley, a spokesperson for Braun, told Breitbart on Monday night, “Senator Donnelly promised to use the Gorsuch approach to evaluate Brett Kavanaugh, and today he has broken his word. It only took 15 days for Donnelly to meet with Neil Gorsuch, yet 15 days into Kavanaugh’s nomination he still won’t meet with President Trump’s highly qualified nominee.

“Hoosiers know that action speaks louder than words, and Donnelly’s obstruction here speaks volumes about his loyalty to the Democrat Party,” Kelley added.

Prior to nominating Kavanaugh, Donnelly met with Trump to discuss the president's pick for the next Supreme Court justice.

A May 9 report in the New York Times asserted that Donnelly may one of this election year’s most vulnerable Democrats.

What has Donnelly said?

According to a Tuesday report in The Hill, Donnelly does plan to meet with Kavanaugh. The report confirmed that Donnelly plans to meet with Kavanaugh on Aug. 15.

"Donnelly has consistently said he would carefully review and consider Judge Kavanaugh’s record, meet with him, and follow his confirmation hearing," the senator's office said in a Tuesday news release.

Donnelly will be the second Democratic senator to meet with Kavanaugh — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) announced on Monday that he would be meeting with Kavanaugh next week.

Donnelly and Manchin are two of three Democrats who voted to confirm Gorsuch in 2017.

According to The Indianapolis Star, Braun fired back at Donnelly's decision to meet with Kavanaugh in a statement of his own.

"While I strongly support [Kavanaugh's] nomination," Braun said, "I have no doubt Donnelly will wait until the liberal wing of his party gives him permission to support Judge Kavanaugh."

What else?

recent poll has Donnelly and Braun in a “virtual tie.”

According to a July 10 report by WIBC-FM, the new poll — which was conducted by Survey Monkey/Axios — gave Braun just a 2-point lead over Donnelly, 49 percent to 47 percent, with 4 percent undecided.

The poll also reported that Donnelly’s total approval rating was at 47 percent, while his disapproval rating was at 49 percent.

The poll surveyed more than 950 registered Indiana voters and was conducted between June 11 to July 2.

At the time of this writing, the Cook Political Report calls the race a toss-up. You can read more about both candidates here.

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?