Elena Kagan Confirmation Hearings to Begin June 28

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Wednesday that the Senate Judiciary Committee begin confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court on June 28, with the goal of wrapping up the process before senators leave Washington for the Fourth of July recess.

"Some would like more time, and I'm sure some would like it earlier," Leahy said when he announced the dates for the hearings, which should last four or five days.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Judiciary Committee's top Republican, met with Leahy on Tuesday and told him Republicans wanted more time -- at least through the first week of July -- to review Kagan's extensive record of public statements, speeches and articles.

In addition to the information that has already been released, Sessions said Wednesday that he expects to review "hundreds of thousands of pages" of records related to Kagan's work in the Clinton White House, which are currently housed at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. On Tuesday, Sessions and Leahy sent a joint letter to the library to ask that documents related to Kagan's White House tenure be sent to the committee as soon as possible.

Sessions warned that Republicans could ask to delay the hearings if those documents produce any surprises relevant to Kagan's nomination. But he stopped well short of threatening to stop the hearings or block a Senate vote on Kagan.

"We share the view that we should conduct a thorough examination that reflects our constitutional role and makes the Senate proud," Sessions said. He predicted that the Senate would vote on Kagan's nomination before August and promised, "We'll do our best to conduct an effective hearing, even if I would have preferred a little more time."