The Senate will vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared on Monday.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation has been in limbo since an FBI investigation was ordered on Friday to look into sexual assault allegations against him.
But McConnell cleared the air by saying the Senate will vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee in the coming days.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell said the Senate will vote on Brett Kavanaugh this week
McConnell said it’s time for the Senate to vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination
‘The goal posts keep shifting. But the goal hasn’t moved an inch. The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close,’ McConnell said on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon. ‘We’ll be voting this week.’
He did not give a specific day but it will likely be on Friday, the day the FBI investigation is scheduled to be finished.
McConnell also could keep senators in Washington D.C. over the weekend to hold a Saturday vote, as it would give them time to read the FBI report.
As Senate leader, he sets the time and date for votes on the Senate floor. He had planned to keep the Senate in session this past weekend to proceed on Kavanaugh’s nomination but that didn’t happen when a final vote on Trump’s nominee was delayed by a week for the FBI investigation.
McConnell’s announcement comes after reports the FBI is expanding its scope into Kavanaugh’s personal life.
The White House has instructed the FBI to interview anyone it considers necessary in its background investigation of Kavanaugh – so long as the review is done by the end of the week, it was revealed on Monday.
Initially investigators were only going to speak to four witness, which led to cries of outrage from Democrats and even some Republicans.
At his Rose Garden press conference on Monday, Trump was pressed repeatedly on whether the White House was keeping the FBI on a leash to prevent it from conducting a full investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh.
It’s uncertain whether GOP leader Mitch McConnell has the votes to get Kavanaugh confirmed
President Donald Trump welcomed the widened FBI investigation into Kavanaugh
‘I think the FBI should interview anybody that they want, within reason,’ Trump said.
Then he added: ‘But they should also be guided, and I’m being guided by what the senators are looking for.’
‘I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation. Whatever that means, according to the senators and the Republicans and the Republican majority, I want them to do that,’ Trump said. ‘With that being said, I’d like it to go quickly.’
Some Democrats have expressed concern the FBI – in their investigation into sexual allegations against Kavanaugh – are reportedly not talking to high school and college classmates, some of whom have said Kavanaugh drank to excess.
In his committee testimony, Kavanaugh said ‘I like beer’ but said he never drank to the point of blacking out.
‘Sometimes I had too many beers. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I never drank beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone,’ Kavanaugh said on Thursday.
Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin are also undecided votes
Democrats are concerned investigators will not examine Kavanaugh’s drinking habits.
The expanded probe will give the FBI leeway to question more witnesses.
There also are questions as to whether Republicans have enough votes to see Kavanaugh confirmed.
Republican Senators Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins said they want to see the results of the FBI inquiry before they decide how to vote.
With a 51-seat majority, Republicans can only lose one vote – if all Democrats vote no on Kavanaugh.
Only two Democratic senators – Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin – are undecided. All other Democrats have said they will vote no.