Swing vote Senators are backing Kavanaugh for US Supreme Court
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump said he was proud yesterday after the Senate pushed US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh past a key procedural hurdle.
Mr Trump tweeted: “Very proud of the US Senate for voting “YES” to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!”
The chamber voted 51-49 to move forward with Mr Trump’s nominee and a final vote on Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination could occur over the weekend. Earlier, Mr Trump claimed demonstrators protesting against Mr Kavanaugh’s selection were “paid professionals’ backed by billionaire investor George Soros.
“The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad,” Mr Trump wrote in a tweet yesterday.
“Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers.”
Mr Soros, whose philanthropy often advances liberal causes, has become a favourite villain of right-leaning conspiracy theorists around the world. The Fox News host Glenn Beck portrayed Mr Soros in a series of television programmes as a “puppet master” who wanted “to bring America to her knees, financially”.
Mr Trump didn’t provide any evidence to back up his assertion. Michael Vachon, a spokesman for the billionaire, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
US Capitol Police say 302 people were arrested on Thursday for protesting Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination illegally inside Senate buildings. Actresses Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski were reportedly among the demonstrators who were detained.
Confronted
Last week, two women who said they were sexual assault victims confronted Senator Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican, in a Senate elevator shortly before the Judiciary Committee was set to vote on advancing Kavanaugh’s nomination. The incident was partially credited for Mr Flake’s decision to request an additional FBI investigation into the accusations against the nominee, delaying his final confirmation vote.
Other Republicans have been more dismissive when confronted by protesters, with fellow Judiciary Committee member Orrin Hatch of Utah waving off women demonstrators and telling them to “grow up”.
The sexual assault survivor who confronted Mr Flake, Ana Maria Archila, is co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), an advocacy group that supports policies in favour of workers, immigrants, and racial and economic justice.
She responded to Mr Trump’s tweet yesterday: “No one can pay for someone’s lived experiences.
“The pain, the trauma, and the rage that I expressed when I spoke with Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator were my own,
‘The pain, trauma and rage were my own and I held it for 30 years’
major plank of his presidency, and last year his nominee Neil Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate.
Dr Ford’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee was broadcast live on television and captured the attention of some 20 million people across the States watching on broadcast and cable networks.
In an angry rebuttal later that day, Judge Kavanaugh said the accusations were part of a “political hit” by Democrats.
His nomination became a flashpoint in the #MeToo social media movement against sexual harassment and assault.
Mr Trump mocked Ford on Tuesday during a political rally in Mississippi, further angering Democrats and women campaigning for an end to sexual violence.
The FBI sent Congress documents detailing additional interviews about Judge Kavanaugh that the agency conducted at the request of some Republican and Democratic senators.
While the documents have not been made public, Republicans said they did not back up sexual assault allegations by Dr Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California.
Similarly, Republicans said the FBI found nobody to support assault claims by Deborah Ramirez, who was a classmate of Judge Kavanaugh’s at Yale University in the 1980s.
Democrats called the FBI report a whitewash and said the White House placed constraints on the FBI, which did not speak to many potential witnesses.