WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):

6:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee says a good judge must be like a neutral and impartial umpire.

Brett Kavanaugh says in remarks prepared for his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing that "I don't decide cases based on personal or policy preferences." He adds that he is "not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge." Kavanaugh says he's a "pro-law judge" dedicated to deciding cases according to the Constitution and U.S. laws.

He thanks Trump and his wife, Melania, for being gracious to the Kavanaugh family.

Kavanaugh has a solidly conservative record as an appeals court judge, including a dissenting opinion last year that would have denied immediate access to an abortion for an immigrant teenager in federal custody.

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12:05 a.m.

With Republicans hoping to move the Supreme Court to the right for years to come, a Senate committee is beginning hearings for President Donald Trump's second nominee to the court.

Brett Kavanaugh has a solidly conservative record as an appeals court judge, including a dissenting opinion last year that would have denied immediate access to an abortion for an immigrant teenager in federal custody.

The first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Tuesday will feature opening statements from senators and Kavanaugh himself. Questioning will begin on Wednesday, and votes in committee and on the Senate floor could occur later in September.

If all goes as Republicans plan, the 53-year-old Kavanaugh could be on the bench when the court begins its new term on Oct. 1.