Confirmation Hearing
On November 3, 2005, Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee outlined the prospective time line for the Alito hearing and voting, scheduling the Committee's opening statements for January 9, 2006, with the hearings expected to last five days. A committee vote was to be held on January 17, and the vote of the full Senate on the nomination was to be held January 20, which would have been nearly a month later than desired by President Bush, who had pushed for a confirmation vote to be held by Christmas.
On January 9, Judiciary Committee members presented opening statements, and questioning by members began on January 10; questioning continued until January 12, after which witness statements continued until January 13. On January 16, Senator Specter's office announced that the committee vote would take place one week later than originally planned, on January 24, with the full Senate to take up debate on the nomination the following day.
Read more about this topic: Samuel Alito Supreme Court Nomination
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