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.