GOP push for Kavanaugh vote
Trump rejects Democratic criticism on handling of FBI probe
President Donald Trump yesterday rejected Democratic criticism of the White House’s handling of an FBI probe into sexual misconduct accusations against his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as Senate Republicans manoeuvred to confirm the conservative judge within days.
The White House sent the FBI report to the Senate Judiciary Committee early yesterday, and senators in both parties were poring over it behind closed doors to determine whether it resolved concerns raised about the nominee.
Trump, pushing the Senate to confirm Kavanaugh to a lifetime job on the top US court, said on Twitter after the FBI finished its investigation that the allegations against his nominee were “totally uncorroborated.” Democrats complained that the FBI probe, ordered by Trump last week at the request of Republican Senator Jeff Flake and others, was too narrow in scope and left out critical witnesses.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said it appeared that the White House “blocked the FBI from doing its job. Democrats agreed that the investigation’s scope should be limited. We did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI’s hands,” she said.
Senators nervously awaited the arrival of a new FBI report on sexual allegations that could make or break Brett Kavanaugh’s tottering Supreme Court nomination as aggressive protesters and an unusually strong security response added to a feeling of high anxiety inside the US Capitol.
As lawmakers anticipated the report, three moderate GOP senators who could decide the conservative jurist’s fate rebuked President Donald Trump for mocking one accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, by mimicking her responses to questions at last week’s dramatic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Their reactions left Republicans concerned that Trump had complicated their effort to cement Kavanaugh’s support in a chamber where the GOP holds a razor-thin 51-49 majority. Depending on when the FBI report arrived, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was expected to trigger a process that could lead to a crucial initial vote and a climactic confirmation roll call over the weekend.
Inside the Capitol, mounting political strains over the approaching election-season showdown were mirrored by growing anxieties over senators’ security following frequent and at times aggressive demonstrations by anti-Kavanaugh protesters. Unusually large numbers of Capitol Hill Police officers restricted movements in corridors and formed wedges around senators walking through hallways. Some lawmakers also complained of being confronted outside their homes.
On the Senate floor, McConnell, R-Ky., claimed the protesters were “part of the organised effort” to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination and said, “There is no chance in the world that they’re going to scare us out of doing our duty.”
Trump lampooning
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters that Trump’s Tuesday night lampooning of Ford at a Mississippi campaign rally was “just plain wrong.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called it “wholly inappropriate and in my view unacceptable,” and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said on NBC’s Today show that the remarks were “kind of appalling.”
Those GOP senators, along with Democrats Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have yet to declare how they will vote on Kavanaugh. Other Republicans conceded that Trump’s insults could be damaging.
“All of us need to keep in mind there’s a few people that are on the fence right now. And right now, that’s sort of where our focus needs to be,” said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.