Republicans in the Senate have agreed to delay a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation for one week to allow for an FBI probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against the judge, according to a statement issued by the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday.
According to the statement, the committee will request that the White House “instruct the FBI to conduct a supplemental FBI background investigation with respect to” Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“The supplemental FBI background investigation would be limited to current credible allegations against the nominee and must be completed no later than one week from today,” the statement said.
The delay means that a floor vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which had been expected for Tuesday, could now happen three days later. Senators will move forward with a procedural vote expected Saturday.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and a number of other Republicans had huddled in McConnell’s office Friday afternoon to discuss how to proceed on the confirmation following a call from a number of key senators to delay the vote.
The agreement reached Friday will hand over to the White House a final decision on whether the FBI conducts an investigation, though the president has signaled his willingness to go along with the GOP leadership.
President Donald Trump, who has stood by his nominee amid a turbulent confirmation process roiled by accusations of sexual abuse, said Friday that he would be “totally reliant” on Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“I’m going to rely on all of the people including Senator Grassley, who’s doing a very good job,” Trump said.
The Judiciary Committee voted on Friday along party lines to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate, but a dramatic last-minute speech from retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., thrust the process into chaos.
Flake, who had earlier announced that he would vote “yes” on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, said at the committee meeting that his floor vote would be contingent on an FBI probe. A number of other swing votes soon followed, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin signaling their support for Flake’s proposal almost immediately.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
