Republicans riding the roller coaster of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination concluded after a dramatic hearing on Thursday that President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court could still win confirmation in a Senate vote.
Senior Republican operatives and top Republican lawmakers were silent mid-day after Christine Blasey Ford delivered credible, compelling testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago when both were in high school. In quick emails and text messages, Republicans predicted his nomination was all but dead.
That calculation did a 180-degree turn after Kavanaugh, a federal appellate judge, delivered a defiant yet emotional opening statement before his round of questioning. He denied all allegations and paused several times as he choked back tears as he described the toll the accusations have taken on his family and reputation.
“This is a disaster for the GOP,” a Republican operative with White House ties told the Washington Examiner soon after Ford’s testimony concluded. But after Kavanaugh’s opening statement, this Republican said the 53-year old judge might have rescued his confirmation, proclaiming: “He’s knocking it out of the park.”
That was Trump’s assessment, and his positive review could be enough to at least guarantee Kavanaugh a floor vote, if not confirmation.
“Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!” the president tweeted, after watching the nominee in committee.
Privately, many Republicans in Congress have dismissed Ford’s claims and suggested she is part of a Democratic plot to kill Kavanaugh’s nomination and delay a vote on a new Supreme Court justice until after the midterm elections. If Democrats win the Senate, they would have the power to reject any Trump nominee, or possibly leave the seat vacant until after the next presidential election, as the Republicans did in 2016.
But after Kavanaugh’s strong opening statement, Republicans, breathing a sigh of relief, began to speak out on his behalf.
“Judge Kavanaugh ferociously defended his innocence, his family and our constitutional system. He was absolutely right to call the Dems out for their disgraceful behavior. @SenFeinstein and the other committee Dems should be ashamed. #ConfirmKavanaughNow,” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., tweeted.
“Democrats & their media wing at @politico @nytimes @washingtonpost @CNN etc spent two weeks slandering Judge Kavanaugh as a sex criminal & now they say he shouldn’t be angry,” added Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also in a tweet, and also like Cheney, only after Kavanaugh’s opener.
The extraordinary, daylong hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee was called so the panel could assess Kavanaugh’s fitness in light of Ford’s allegations, as well as similar accusations from years ago brought by two other women. The committee was to hold a vote to report Kavanaugh’s nomination to the floor for a debate by the full Senate, possibly as soon as Friday.
Republicans on the Judiciary Committee delegated their questioning to a female attorney who specializes in sex crimes, for fear of causing a political backlash by appearing insensitive to her allegations. As Ford’s testimony unfolded, albeit with some holes and no new evidence, she was sympathetic and self-assured, leaving Republicans to prepare for the possibility that they might be forced to cut bait.
A female Republican operative who said she did not personally believe Ford or find her compelling nevertheless arrived at the conclusion that Ford was winning the battle for public opinion, and therefore, had the political high ground.
“Reasonable doubt falls to her today. I would NOT have said that yesterday,” this Republican said. “Unless Kavanaugh hits it out of the ballpark, he’s not getting confirmed.”
But the tide appeared to turn in the opening minutes of Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Influential conservative activists and media figures rallied to him on social media platforms and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee took over the questioning from the attorney they brought in to query Ford and sought to protect Kavanaugh from tough Democratic questioning.
“The judge did well. I think it’s time to vote,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters, immediately following the hearing.
That’s the ultimate issue; does Kavanaugh have enough Republican support to be confirmed? The GOP controls just 51 seats. If more than one Republican bails, the few Democratic incumbents running for re-election from red states that might vote for Kavanaugh could stick with their party, essentially dooming his nomination.
With Trump defending Kavanaugh and the Republican base continuing to rally to his side, the vote is likely to happen — even if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., knows he doesn’t have enough GOP votes to be successful. Caving to Democratic pressure could cause the conservative base to revolt and jeopardize the party’s Senate majority, despite the favorable electoral map.
Senate Republicans were to meet Thursday evening to gauge the level of Kavanaugh’s support.
“There is no risk to losing the vote if you are McConnell,” a veteran Republican operative who has worked on judicial confirmations said.
Susan Ferrechio contributed to this report.
