Democratic senator seeking federal injunction to stop a final vote on SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is filing suit asking a federal court to halt the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in light of the sexual misconduct allegations levied against Kavanaugh.

You can read more about the allegations here, here, and here.

What are the details?

On Wednesday, Merkley tweeted, "I’m suing @realDonaldTrump & @senatemajldr today to stop the unconstitutional #KavanaughConfirmation process. They may want to ram through this nomination come hell or high water, but that’s just not how our Constitution works."

I’m suing @realDonaldTrump & @senatemajldr today to stop the unconstitutional #KavanaughConfirmation process. They may want to ram through this nomination come hell or high water, but that’s just not how our Constitution works.

— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) September 26, 2018

Merkley, who is considering a 2020 presidential bid, said that the intention was to prevent the Senate from taking up Kavanaugh's confirmation until his "full record" is available and disclosed.

Merkley's office said that the senator's lawsuit alleges that the defendants' handling of Kavanaugh's nomination violated the "separation of powers and the advice and consent clause" by withholding any documentation pertaining to Kavanaugh and his background.

Capitol Hill reporter Paul McLeod spoke with Merkley, and tweeted, "Democratic Senator Merkley is filing a lawsuit over the Kavanaugh nomination and seeking an injunction on a confirmation vote. He argues the White House has violated the separation of powers by obstructing the Senate's investigation (by withholding documents, for example)."

Democratic Senator Merkley is filing a lawsuit over the Kavanaugh nomination and seeking an injunction on a confirmation vote. He argues the White House has violated the separation of powers by obstructing the Senate's investigation (by withholding documents, for example.) pic.twitter.com/THjxNTckzG

— Paul McLeod (@pdmcleod) September 26, 2018

Anything else?

McLeod also asked Merkley if he was aware of any precedent for the courts ordering the Senate to refuse a vote.

Merkley responded that he was fairly sure this would be an unprecedented event.

"This is uncharted territory," Merkley added.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday.