OPENING STATEMENT: Brett Kavanaugh Senate Confirmation Hearing

Judge Brett Kavanaugh goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for confirmation hearings with what supporters call the longest paper trail – practically a superhighway – of any federal judicial nominee, a testament to his enviable insider status in public and private corridors of Washington power.

That impressive resume has created both political opportunity and peril, as Senate Democrats have demanded a go-slow approach so that Kavanaugh's records as a federal judge, White House staffer and lawyer for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr can be thoroughly scoured.

"We don't know if there's some sort of revelatory bombshell," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.

But Republicans are confident the 53-year-old judge will be on the bench when the Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 1.

"Watching this confirmation unfold is like watching the tortured last moments of a blowout basketball game," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Democrats are down thirty with ten seconds left, but they keep fouling to stop the shot clock in an attempt to avoid their inevitable defeat."