WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is scheduled to meet Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on July 30, his office confirmed Monday.
Manchin is one of three Democrats who voted last year to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court; Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana are also feeling pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh, who currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
During a roundtable last week in Charleston, Manchin said he expected to meet Kavanaugh within two weeks.
Manchin has repeatedly said he is concerned about what confirming Kavanaugh to the high court would mean for the federal health care law, specifically the provision regarding protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions.
Manchin introduced a resolution last Thursday asking the Senate Legal Counsel to represent the chamber in a lawsuit to defend “Obamacare.” Twenty states, including West Virginia, are suing the federal government, arguing the health care law is unconstitutional following the repeal of the individual mandate in December.
The entire Senate Democratic Caucus — 49 senators — support the resolution.
“We have a lot of our Republican friends who are very sympathetic and hope that they will sign on to it,” Manchin said Friday. “We’ve been working as bipartisan as we can.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., met with Kavanaugh on July 12, calling him an “excellent choice by the president.”
Manchin said he plans on meeting with Kavanaugh a second time following his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.