Thursday marked a full month since President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and Alabama GOP Chair Terry Lathan question Sen. Doug Jones’ (D-Mountain Brook) “inability to make a decision.”
After 32 days now, and still counting, Jones has not committed to backing Judge Kavanaugh, even though a majority of Alabamians support his confirmation.
Sen. Richard Shelby voiced his strong support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation after meeting with him last week, but Alabama’s junior senator is still undecided. Jones will reportedly not even be meeting with Kavanaugh before his confirmation hearing in September.
In a statement Friday, Lathan called on Jones to get off the fence.
“Senator Doug Jones’ inability to make a decision on casting an Alabama vote for Judge Kavanaugh is disconcerting,” she told Yellowhammer News. “If Senator Shelby can meet with Judge Kavanaugh prior to the hearings on behalf of our citizens, why can’t Senator Jones?”
Lathan also questioned Jones’ priorities, noting that he had traveled to a Tennessee Democratic Party fundraiser over the summer.
“If he can find time to spend with Tennesseans to raise Democrat political funds, he can surely find a moment to meet with Judge Kavanaugh prior to his SCOTUS hearing,” she said.
Lathan continued, “Alabamians are perplexed by his unwillingness to speak with President Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee when he clearly has the time to do so.”
The head of Alabama’s Republican Party reminded voters of Jones’ core promise from November 2017.
“The night Senator Jones was elected he said he would ‘reach across with those that didn’t vote for us to try to find that common ground,'” she said.
Lathan also posed a question to Jones: “How is refusing to simply meet with Judge Kavanaugh before his confirmation hearing finding ‘common ground?'”
Conservative effort are underway to push Jones to listen to the majority of his constituents and confirm Kavanaugh.
The Judicial Crisis Network’s massive ad buy has been flooding Alabama’s airwaves since July 9, and the NRA started their own ambitious television campaign this week.
Concerned Women for America, a Christian women’s organization, is also focusing grassroots efforts on the Yellowhammer State.
Lathan stressed that Jones simply meeting with the nominee is not a partisan decision, but rather an essential duty of any United States Senator.
“A meeting doesn’t mean a promise to vote one way or another,” she emphasized to Yellowhammer News. “A meeting with a Supreme Court nominee is an easy opportunity to address any concerns or questions Senator Jones may have surrounding Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.”
The Alabama Republican Party chair called on Jones to meet with Judge Kavanaugh before his confirmation hearing.
“Senator Jones truly should stop making excuses and give his constituents what they deserve – a meeting with Judge Kavanaugh prior to his confirmation,” Lathan concluded.
….still waiting #alpolitics https://t.co/OrziM0GJ3I
— Terry Lathan (@ChairmanLathan) August 8, 2018
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.