The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will begin at 12:30 p.m. today, as planned, according to the office of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
Senators are mourning the death early this morning of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who was the longest-serving member of the Senate in U.S. history. His death could disrupt some congressional business, including Democrats’ proposed financial regulatory overhaul, but Kagan’s hearing will go on, Leahy’s office said in an e-mail to reporters.
“We are all saddened by the news of Senator Byrd’s passing,” Leahy said in a statement. “No Senator came to care more about the Constitution or to be a more effective defender of our constitutional government than the senior Senator from West Virginia.”
For part of his career, Byrd was a member of the Judiciary Committee. He participated in the 1975 confirmation hearing for Justice John Paul Stevens, whom Kagan would succeed.
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