Watch live: Kavanaugh Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON – Brett Kavanaugh, the federal judge who is President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, will tell the Senate Judiciary Committee at his Tuesday confirmation hearing he will “be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter,” according to excerpts of his opening statement released by the White House.

Kavanaugh spent part of Labor Day weekend working on his opening statement, a White House spokesman told the Sun-Times.

The excerpt also include a shout out to Judge Merrick Garland, an interesting move since the GOP-led Senate blocked Garland, former President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, from even getting the hearing Kavanaugh is receiving today. Kavanaugh will note he sits on the federal appeals court where Garland, a Niles West High School graduate raised in Lincolnwood, is now the chief judge.

The Senate panel hearing will start at 9:30 a.m. ET in the Hart Senate Office Building with statements from the senators.

He was introduced by former Bush Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Sen. Rob Portman R-Ind.; and attorney, Lisa Blatt, who in an article in Politico boosting Kavanaugh called herself “a liberal Democrat and feminist.”

Sen. Dick Durbin D-Ill., is a member of the committee, and he will be the sixth senator to make an opening statement. He met with Kavanaugh on Aug. 23, when it was already known the Trump administration was blocking release of records from the time Kavanaugh served in the Bush White House, a time, Durbin noted, when many issues likely to face the court were “debated and decided.”

Those issues include abortion, executive privilege, same sex marriage and executive privilege.

Democratic allied groups trying to mobilize opposition to Kavanaugh include the Planned Parenthood Action Fund; NARAL Pro-Choice America; Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights;Alliance For Justice; Human Rights Campaign; People For the American Way and the National Partnership for Women & Families.

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT KAVANAUGH: The Senate Judiciary Committee has posted documents, from his net worth statement to his questionnaire.

Excerpts from the opening remarks Judge Brett Kavanaugh will deliver later today in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Opening Remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Excerpts as prepared for Delivery:

Over the past eight weeks, I have witnessed first-hand the Senate’s deep appreciation for the vital role of the American Judiciary.

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At the White House on the night of the announcement, the President and Mrs. Trump were very gracious to my daughters, my wife, and my parents. My family will always cherish that night.

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To me, Justice Kennedy is a mentor, a friend, and a hero. As a Member of the Court, he was a model of civility and collegiality. He fiercely defended the independence of the Judiciary. And he was a champion of liberty.

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A good judge must h who favors no litigant or policy. … I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.

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I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland.

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If confirmed to the Court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine.