Day one of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was largely a farce, but the committee's youngest member, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, stepped up as the adult in the room. In the middle of what Sasse accurately labeled a “politicized circus,” he delivered a master class on the proper allocation of authority among the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of the federal government. Sasse's separation-of-powers roadmap is one that nominee Kavanaugh has followed throughout his 12 years on the federal bench.
At the outset, Democratic senators played the part of resistance warriors and sought to derail the proceedings. Perched at the left flank of the Democrats' left-side phalanx, the two junior-most of their number—2020 presidential aspirants Cory Booker and Kamala Harris—jostled for camera time, while Republican chairman Chuck Grassley struggled to maintain order.
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