Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee approves minutes, moves to closed session

The Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee voted unanimously to approve minutes from its Nov. 3, 2025 meeting and to enter a closed session to discuss an appointee’s character, competence and/or health, the committee chair said.

The action came after the chair asked "to Senator Brammer for a motion to approve our minutes from our 11/03/2025 meeting." Senator Brammer moved to approve the minutes, and the chair called for a vote. "Chair rules that that passes unanimously, which is 5 to 0," the chair said.

Minutes approval was followed by the chair citing the committee’s authority to close a portion of the meeting under the Open and Public Meetings Act: "As permitted by sections, 2 0 4 and 2 0 5 of the Open and Public Meetings Act, this committee may close a portion of the meeting to the public to privately discuss the appointee's character, competence, and or health," the chair said. The chair said the closed meeting would likely take "5 or 10 minutes," and that the committee would resume the public hearing afterward.

The chair then asked Senator Brammer to make the motion to enter a closed meeting. "I move to a closed meeting," Senator Brammer said, and the committee again voted unanimously to approve the motion, 5 to 0.

Members stopped the public recording during the closed portion of the meeting, and the chair indicated the appointee would be invited into the closed room to answer questions under oath. Committee members also discussed logistics before the break, including a reminder that they needed to be on the Senate floor at 10 a.m. and should conclude by about 9:50 a.m.

When the public session resumed, the chair turned the meeting to Jonathan for a staff review; Jonathan opened, "Good morning, committee. Happy first day of session." The meeting then proceeded to the planned review.