Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court will go to a Senate committee vote early Friday afternoon, with a Republican majority all but ensured after Jeff Flake indicating earlier in the day he would vote to confirm him.
The Senate judiciary committee on Friday morning set a vote for 1:30 p.m. for President Donald Trump’s nominee, who has seen his almost certain path to the top court threatened after three women came forward publicly with allegations of sexual misconduct.
The committee, which is comprised of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, had little time to review Thursday’s remarkable testimony from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were high school students.
The committee voted 11-8 to schedule the vote on the nomination, with all Republicans in support, eight of the panel’s 10 Democrats voting in opposition and two Democrats — Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California — abstaining to demonstrate their objection.
Harris, along with Democratic colleagues Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, then walked out.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed for the Supreme Court, he could be the deciding vote on several contentious cases, with disputes involving abortion, immigration, gay rights, voting rights and transgender troops possibly heading toward the justices soon.
Confirmation of Kavanaugh, a Federal Appeals Court judge, would cement conservative control of the country’s highest court.
Watch as protesters confront Sen. Jeff Flake:
Flake, a committee member who hadn’t tipped his hand about his vote, released a statement Friday morning indicating he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh. The Arizona Republican, who is not running for re-election in November, said that while he left the Thursday hearing “with as much doubt as certainty” as to what may have occurred in the 1980s concerning Kavanaugh and Ford, “the presumption of innocence” compels him to vote Yes.
In theory, committee could vote in several ways, recommending that the full Senate approve the nomination or that the Senate reject it, or it could make no recommendation at all. A full vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination is likely to occur regardless of the route they chose, and Flake’s commitment scuttles the possibility of rejection.
After a procedural vote that could come over the weekend, the full 100-member Senate is expected to take action as early as Tuesday. Thirty hours must pass between the end of debate and a procedural vote.
Democrats have asked Republicans and the White House to pause the process so the FBI could investigate, a request that has been denied.
“We have done a botch of an investigation,” said Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse on Friday.
“The sand is running through Judge Kavanaugh’s hourglass, and I pledge to do whatever I can do to make sure the truth of his conduct is ultimately determined.”
Key moments from Thursday’s testimony:
During testimony that one senator described as “riveting,” Ford said she was “100 per cent certain” that Kavanaugh assaulted her in 1982. Kavanaugh angrily said he was innocent and the victim of “grotesque and obvious character assassination.”
Attention to the hearings has moved far beyond the world of Washington politics. Ford has emerged in the eyes of many American women as a compelling figure in the #MeToo movement.
Senate judiciary committee chair Chuck Grassley holds up a letter from Mark Judge, a friend of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the 1980s. Judge expressed his desire not to publicly testify and said in the letter that he couldn’t corroborate Ford’s accusations. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)
At Friday morning’s committee hearing, Blumenthal brought forth a motion to subpoena Mark Judge. Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh’s in the 1980s, has been mentioned in allegations by both Ford and a third woman, Julie Swetnick.
“We cannot in good conscience vote without hearing, at least, from Mark Judge,” said Blumenthal.
Committee chair Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa, read a letter submitted through Judge’s attorney, Barbara Van Gelder, in which he expressed his desire to not publicly comment, citing his battle with alcoholism and cancer.
Judge said he did not witness the events as described by Ford in her Thursday testimony.
Several Democratic congresswomen in Friday’s hearing stood up, held a silent protest for several moments, and then walked out. (CBC News)
Blumenthal’s motion was denied, and the vote fell entirely along party lines.
Ford’s allegations have thrown the outcome in doubt in the 51-49 Republican-controlled Senate. Assuming all Democrats vote against his nomination – which is likely, but not a sure thing – two Republicans would need to vote No to deny the nomination, as Vice-President Mike Pence would break a 50-50 tie in Kavanaugh’s favour.
Flake was among a handful of senators not publicly resolved in their positions. Shortly before midday on Friday, Democrat Joe Donnelly of Indiana, a state that went for Trump in 2016, said he would be a No vote.
Donnelly, who voted to confirm right-leaning Justice Neil Gorsuch last year, said he had “deep reservations about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to this lifetime position.”
‘I will not be intimidated’
Ford, her voice sometimes cracking with emotion, appeared in public for the first time on Thursday to detail her allegations against Kavanaugh.
She told the committee she feared Kavanaugh would rape and accidentally kill her during the alleged assault: “Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. … I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help.”
Ford describes assault:
For his part, Kavanaugh testified he was “100 per cent certain” the alleged incident did not occur. He said, “I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process.”
While his temperament was criticized by Democrats, Trump tweeted support for his nominee’s showing on Thursday evening.
The American Bar Association urged the Senate committee and the full Senate to delay the vote until the FBI could do a full investigation of the assault claims.
At the hearing on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was outraged at the way the Democrats have treated Kavanaugh. (Andrew Harnik/Reuters)
Meanwhile, America Magazine, published by the Jesuit religious order in the United States, withdrew its endorsement of Kavanaugh, saying the nomination was no longer in the interests of the country and “should be withdrawn.”
“If Senate Republicans proceed with his nomination, they will be prioritizing policy aims over a woman’s report of an assault,” the America editors wrote.
Kavanaugh testified he was “100 per cent certain” the incident alleged by Christine Blasey Ford did not happen. (Michael Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
Kavanaugh repeatedly referred to his Roman Catholic faith and his years as a student at the Jesuit-run Georgetown Prep school in Maryland.
In addition to Ford, Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez have also publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct with respect to alleged incidents in the 1980s. Neither has been invited to testify before the committee.
With files from Reuters