Today will be all about opening statements, with senators taking up the morning and Sonia Sotomayor taking the seat in the afternoon. The key days of testimony will be Tuesday and Wednesday, when Sotomayor will take multiple rounds of questions from senators. Her testimony might spill into Thursday, after which witnesses will testify, potentially consuming Thursday and Friday.
New York Democratic Reps. Jose Serrano and Nydia Velazquez will highlight Sotomayor's personal story and her chance to be the court's first Hispanic.
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, former New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and National Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury will highlight Sotomayor's work as a prosecutor.
Republicans will call Frank Ricci, the firefighter from New Haven, Conn., who won a discrimination case when the Supreme Court overturned a ruling by a panel of judges that included Sotomayor, to bolster their contention that she has let her personal views affect her decisions. Former National Rifle Association head Sandy Froman will likely take shots at Sotomayor's rulings on the Second Amendment.
Republican members have said they will question Sotomayor about her past position on the board of a group providing legal advocacy for people of Puerto Rican descent that often sued cities over employment issues.
But it remains unclear if Republicans will unveil any unannounced lines of questioning or oppose Sotomayor strongly enough to risk political fallout. Democrats, including Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., have said blanket opposition to Sotomayor could alienate Hispanic voters.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona might offer barometers of the GOP's disposition. Both sit on the committee and represent states with large Hispanic populations. And as members of leadership, both, and Cornyn in particular, must weigh the political needs of Senate Republicans.
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