Obstruction: Democrats Begin Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing with 62 Interruptions

Senate Democrats threw a tantrum on Tuesday during the opening of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Abandoning decorum, Senate Democrats interrupted the proceedings 62 times, without waiting for proper recognition from the chair, and many of them spoke out of turn.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal led Senate Democrats by interrupting the proceedings 21 times, and Corey Booker interrupted 13 times while his staff sent out fundraising letters based on his performance.

Here is the current count of interruptions, according to the Republican National Committee, during the first two hours of the hearing:

INTERRUPTIONS:

Richard Blumenthal 21

Cory Booker 13

Christopher Coons 2

Dick Durbin 0

Dianne Feinstein 0

Kamala Harris 9

Mazie Hirono 8

Amy Klobuchar 5

Patrick Leahy 2

Sheldon Whitehouse 2

TOTAL 62

NBC reported that Senate Democrats planned the disruption over the phone with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. But the protests did not have their intended effect as the hearings continued.

Republican senators condemned the interruptions as Democrats trying to enact “mob rule” over the serious nature of the confirmation hearing.