Republicans push to clear Kavanaugh
Supreme Court process will continue despite sex-assault allegations
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans on Wednesday took a hard line: full-speed ahead on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court despite an allegation of sexual assault decades ago.
But privately, discussions about the political fallout gripped the party, with Republican lawmakers and strategists unnerved by the charged, gender-infused debates that have upended this campaign season.
Already burdened by an unpopular president and an energized Democratic electorate, the male-dominated GOP is now facing a torrent of scrutiny about how they are handling Kavanaugh’s accuser, psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford, and whether the party’s push to install him on the high court by next week could come at a steep political cost with women and the independent voters who are the keystone for congressional majorities.
Tensions were also evident as Republicans responded to the request of Ford to have the FBI investigate her allegations before she accepts an invitation to appear before the Senate judiciary committee, which has scheduled a Monday hearing for testimony from her and Kavanaugh.
As GOP senators implored Ford to appear before the committee, there was a range in the tone of statements about her, veering from the flippant — “I’ll listen to the lady, but we’re go- ing to bring this to a close,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said this week — to the encouraging.
“I hope that Dr. Ford will reconsider,” tweeted Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate whose vote would be critical for Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “It is my understanding that the committee has offered to hold either a public or a private session, whichever would make her more comfortable.”
Judiciary committee chairman Chuck Grassley continued Wednesday to take command of the Republican response to Ford, refusing to budge on his plans for the Monday hearing and dismissing the request from Ford’s lawyers for additional investigation by the FBI. His position was praised by some Republicans as fair and decried by Democrats as stubborn and cruel, particularly since Ford has been inundated with threats since she shared her account, her lawyers say.
Meanwhile, 65 women signed a letter rallying behind Kavanaugh as someone who “has always treated women with decency and respect.”