Senate

Manchin drowned out by protesters as he explains vote

Greg Nash

Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), the lone Democrat who will vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, was confronted by angry protesters outside his office after announcing his position.

Manchin’s answers to reporters justifying his position were drowned out by a group of women protesters chanting at him “Look at us!” and “shame!” 

{mosads}Manchin looked uncomfortable as he tried to hear reporters’ questions over the angry crowd.

Running for reelection in a state President Trump won by double digits, Manchin is considered a vulnerable Democrat.

Trump has endorsed state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) and has campaigned for him, despite Manchin working with Trump regularly. 

Manchin said he empathizes with the victims of sexual assault but pointed to an FBI report that did not corroborate 36-year-old assault allegations against Kavanaugh.

“Based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him,” he said in a statement released at 4 pm Friday. Manchin was pressured by both sides about his vote.

Liberal activists occupied his West Virginia campaign office Monday afternoon demanding that he oppose Kavanaugh.

But a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP survey firm, found West Virginians strongly favor Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

The poll conducted for the Judicial Crisis Network, a group that spent millions of dollars on ads supporting Kavanaugh, showed that 58 percent of West Virginians back Kavanaugh while 28 percent oppose him.

Tags Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination Donald Trump Joe Manchin

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