After yesterday’s tortuous hearing with Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the latter’s future just took a huge step forward.
Yesterday’s testimony was, in many ways, unnecessary. We learned nothing new, other than Ford changed her story multiple times. (RELATED: Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Blasey Ford Changes Story During Testimony.)
With a dearth of evidence confirming Ford’s testimony, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving forward.
The Senate Judiciary Committee just voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh! The vote was done along party lines, with 11 Republicans voting in the affirmative and all 10 Democrats voting no or abstaining.
Senate Judiciary advances Kavanaugh’s nomination to full Senate, Flake votes “aye” with the understanding that a floor vote could be delayed no more than a week in order to let the FBI do an investigation that is “limited in time and scope.”
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 28, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination will he sent to the floor, 11-10, approved on a party-line vote. Flake calls for a one-week delay of an FBI probe
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 28, 2018
That was a close call. Just hours before the vote, Senator Jeff Flake confirmed that he would be voting to confirm Kavanaugh on the Committee. He was questionable beforehand. And just before the vote, there were rumors he may flip under pressure from Democrats. But he stuck by his guns and voted to confirm.
Flake has, however, demanded an FBI investigation before the floor vote.
.@JeffFlake: “I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to but not more than one week, in order to let the FBI do an investigation, limited in time and scope to the current allegations that are there.” https://t.co/FVPyEJhAJf pic.twitter.com/GZbxe2MPWb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
This vote, while important, is largely symbolic. It’s not necessary to ultimately confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could always call a general floor vote. That’s the vote that matters. Still, getting the confirmation of the Senate Judiciary Committee is helpful for Kavanaugh’s reputation.
If you remember, after the allegations leveled by Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas was not confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was still confirmed to the Supreme Court in the end.
This fight is far from over. The general vote is where the fight matters. There are still two wild cards: senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. They are both moderate senators who try to appease their female constituency. Everything depends on them.
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Mitch McConnell is likely to hold a vote as soon as possible, likely early next week. And even if Kavanaugh is ultimately confirmed, Democrats are threatening to impeach him. (RELATED: Democrats Sensing Defeat – We Will Impeach Kavanaugh.)
In many ways, the fight is just beginning.