Kavanaugh test vote set
Senators can view FBI report Thursday, cast ballots Friday
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell on Wednesday night started the clock for Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, with a preliminary vote set for Friday and a final vote on Saturday.
The move came as the FBI completed its report into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. Senators are expected to begin reading the report Thursday, under tight security and strict rules.
Kavanaugh’s fate remains unclear because three GOP Republicans are undecided: Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Several Democrats are also said to be wavering.
Mcconnell needs at least two of the three undecided Republicans, assuming all Senate Democrats oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination.
KAVANAUGH
Kavanaugh was initially set to face a Senate vote earlier this week, but the three Republicans abruptly joined Democrats on Friday in demanding an FBI inquiry into allegations by California professor Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when both were in high school in 1982. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
President Donald Trump gave the FBI a week to look into the matter and said publicly that the law enforcement agency had free rein. But Democrats accused the administration of restricting the probe behind the scenes.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-calif., on Wednesday criticized the FBI for not speaking with either Kavanaugh or Ford. She also complained that the FBI did not talk to witnesses identified by Deborah Ramirez, who also accused Kavanaugh of assault in the 1980s.
The White House hasn’t said what, if any, restrictions were placed on the FBI probe. Ford’s lawyers confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon that she had not been contacted by the FBI.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-del., said he would have expected the FBI to use the entire week it was afforded.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D- W.V., one of the few Democrats who remain undecided, said the FBI report would be instrumental in his decision.
“I’m going to read whatever they’ve got,” Manchin said Wednesday. “… Before I start jumping in, let me just read what they have and we’ll go from there.”
Once the report — which is typically confidential — is given to the Senate, all senators will be able to access it in a secure room. Two Senate staff members say the current plan is to have separate times for Democrats and Republicans.
There is debate on Capitol Hill as to whether all or some of the report should be made public.
“I’m of the view that whatever could be made public should be, but that would be well outside the normal way these things are treated,” said Sen. Roy Bunt, R-MO.
Mcconnell said Tuesday that the report should not become public.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter on Wednesday to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-iowa, chair of the committee, calling for “bipartisan ground rules” for how the FBI report can be discussed.
Republicans called the Democrats’ letter “baseless innuendo.”
The temperature around the nomination rose Tuesday evening after Trump mocked Ford during a campaign rally. He mimicked her testimony last week, emphasizing her inability to remember certain details and suggesting she drank more than she claimed.
All three undecided Republicans condemned Trump’s remarks. The White House insisted Trump was merely restating facts.