Senate Republican leaders indicated on Tuesday that they are resolved to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh quickly, following Thursday testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago.
“We’re going to have the hearing on Thursday — that’s to give us enough evidence, a way to evaluate the two people who could be the only people who apparently know anything about this — listen to the evidence, evaluate the situation, and then vote,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
McConnell added that he expects Kavanaugh to be confirmed. “We’re going to be moving forward. I’m confident we’re going to win,” said McConnell. “I’m confident he will be confirmed in the very near future.”
Emerging from their weekly GOP luncheon on Tuesday, Tennessee Republican Bob Corker said that GOP leaders told members to be prepared to stay in Washington over the weekend in order to clear the procedural hurdles required to set up a final vote on Kavanaugh next week. In such a scenario, the Senate Judiciary Committee would have a markup to advance the nominee on Friday, just one day after Thursday’s hearing in which Ford and Kavanaugh will testify.
Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley confirmed on Tuesday evening that the committee was planning to hold an executive meeting on Friday, tentatively in order to advance the nomination.
Judic Cmte noticed POTENTIAL exec mtg for Friday. Still taking this 1 step at a time. After hrg Dr Ford & Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony- if we‘re ready to vote, we will vote. If we aren’t ready, we won’t. Cmte rules normally require 3 days notice so we‘re following regular order
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) September 25, 2018
According to Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski, this would allow McConnell to file cloture on Saturday, leading to a vote to limit debate on the nomination on Monday and a final vote on Tuesday or Wednesday. The new Supreme Court term begins on Monday.
“There’s no reason to delay this more, unless something new comes out of the hearing on Thursday,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn. “As you can tell, people are coming out of the woodwork making incredible, uncorroborated allegations and I think you can just expect that kind of nonsense to continue.”
Cornyn added, “In this case, there’s no way the accused can disprove the allegation because he wasn’t there, [Kavanaugh] said. It didn’t happen, he said.”
Ford says that in the early 1980s, a drunken, 17-year-old Kavanaugh forced her onto a bed at a house party and attempted to remove her clothes, putting his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, before she escaped when Kavanaugh’s inebriated friend, Mark Judge, jumped on top of the two and knocked her loose. The New Yorker reported another allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh on Sunday, put forward by a former classmate at Yale, Deborah Ramirez. Ramirez says Kavanaugh drunkenly exposed himself to her at a dorm party.
Taylor Foy, a spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Tuesday evening that committee staff had contacted Ramirez’s lawyer to request more information. “Our staff reached out to her counsel to request any statement or additional evidence. Thus far, we have not heard back,” Foy said.
It is clear when talking to rank-and-file members that Thursday’s hearing, which includes no witnesses other than Ford and Kavanaugh, could ultimately have little impact on how they vote. Absent additional evidence, many GOP minds are already made up in support of President Donald Trump’s nominee — and the same can be said for the Democrats who oppose him for ideological reasons. The issue, as always, really comes down to a few swing votes who could make or break the nomination: Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Jeff Flake; and Democrats such as Joe Manchin and Joe Donnelly.
Murkowski summarized her view of the situation in an interview with the New York Times on Monday night. “We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,” said the Alaska senator. “It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.”
“We have to listen to what she will say on the record, under oath, and what Judge Kavanaugh will say on the record, under oath,” Murkowski added.
Republicans on Monday night were quick to downplay Ramirez’s allegations, which Utah Senator Orrin Hatch described as “phony,” according to the Washington Post’s Seung Min Kim. Asked whether he thought Ford’s claims were also fabricated, Hatch said, “I think she’s sincere, at least I hope so. But I think she’s sincerely wrong.” Likewise, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham told reporters he thought someone may have indeed harmed Ford, “but I’m increasingly confident that Brett Kavanaugh was not that person.”
GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee—all men—have selected a female attorney to question Ford and Kavanaugh in their place on Thursday. Grassley announced late Tuesday night that Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona sex crimes prosecutor, had been hired to do the job. Senate Democrats are expected to ask their own questions.
Graham said Ford’s account, which lacks some details such as the location of the house party and the exact date of the incident, would be difficult to weigh. “We want to hear the allegation. I don’t think you’ll ever, unless there’s something new, you’re never going to get to the bottom of it in this sense,” said Graham. “I’m going to try to use some rational process as a guide, other than just, ‘I feel one way or the other.’”
McConnell’s strategy is more straightforward, and it leaves little room for additional investigation: “We have two people here who have a different version of what has happened. We need to listen to them both respectfully, and then make a decision,” he said Tuesday.
