A Republican-led committee approved President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday but moderate Republican Senator Jeff Flake called for an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against the judge before a final Senate vote.
Mr. Flake's dramatic intervention means a final Senate vote on the nomination could be delayed for up to a week so that the possible FBI investigation can be completed, if Republican Senate leaders agree to his demand. Democrats have called for an FBI probe, but Republicans had opposed the move.
The committee, with tempers flaring on both sides, met the day after a jarring and emotional hearing into sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh that gripped the country, with a university professor named Christine Blasey Ford accusing him of sexual misconduct. Mr. Kavanaugh denied the accusation.
“This country's being ripped apart here,” Mr. Flake, with a pained look on his face, told his fellow senators. “... I think we can have a short pause,” Mr. Flake added.
“We ought to do what we can to make sure that we do all due diligence with a nomination this important,” Mr. Flake added.
It was unclear yet if the investigation will take place. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office had no immediate comment. The committee moved to advance the nomination 11-10 on party lines, with Mr. Trump's fellow Republicans voting yes and Democrats voting no.
“All I've said to Senator Flake is I would advocate for the position he took but I don't control that,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the committee.
Just before the scheduled vote in the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Flake left the committee room to talk to some Democrats, adding new turmoil to the proceedings. During the delay, senators and aides could be seen in the committee room having hushed conversations, with some going back and forth to an anteroom of the committee chamber.
Earlier in the day Mr. Flake, who had previously raised concerns about the allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh, said Ford gave “compelling testimony” but Mr. Kavanaugh provided “a persuasive response.”
Soon after Mr. Flake made his announcement that he would vote for Mr. Kavanaugh in the committee, the senator was confronted in an elevator while on his way to the committee meeting by two protesters who said they were sexual assault survivors.
“That's what you're telling all women in America — that they don't matter, they should just keep it to themselves,” one of the protesters shouted at Mr. Flake in an exchange aired by CNN.
“I need to go to my hearing. I've issued my statement,” Mr. Flake said.
The full Senate must confirm Supreme Court appointments.
One Republican, Senator John Kennedy, called Mr. Kavanaugh's confirmation process “an intergalactic freak show.”
As the committee, with 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, set its vote, some Democrats left the room in protest. “What a railroad job,” Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono said.
It remained unclear if Republicans have the votes to confirm Mr. Kavanaugh on the Senate floor. Republicans hold a slim Senate 51-49 majority, making the votes of two other so-far undecided Republican moderates crucial: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.
Mr. Grassley said he found Thursday's testimony from both Ford and Mr. Kavanaugh “credible,” but added, “There's simply no reason to deny Judge Kavanaugh a seat on the Supreme Court on the basis of evidence presented to us.”
The timing of the panel's session gave committee members little time to review Thursday's extraordinary testimony from Mr. Kavanaugh and Ford, who accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were high school students in 1982. Mr. Kavanaugh forcefully denied the accusations and accused Democrats of a “calculated and orchestrated political hit.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's senior Democrat, called Mr. Kavanaugh's remarks unseemly for a judicial nominee.
“This was someone who was aggressive and belligerent. I have never seen someone who wants to be elevated to the highest court in the country behave in that manner. In stark contrast, the person who testified yesterday and demonstrated a balanced temperament was Dr. Ford,” Feinstein said.
Another Democrat, Amy Klobuchar, noted that Grassley had thanked Ford for her bravery but nevertheless failed to back any further investigation.
“Where is the bravery in this room?” Ms. Klobuchar asked.
'They don't matter'
The controversy has unfolded just weeks ahead of the Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are trying to seize control of Congress from the Republicans.
If confirmed, Mr. Kavanaugh would consolidate conservative control of the nation's highest court and advance Mr. Trump's broad effort to shift the American judiciary to the right.
Democrats said Mr. Kavanaugh's confirmation could taint the Supreme Court, which prides itself on staying above the political fray.
“Voting to advance and ultimately confirm Judge Kavanaugh while he is under this dark cloud of suspicion will forever change the Senate and our nation's high court. It will politicize the U.S. Supreme Court,” Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said.
Democrats have urged a delay in the confirmation process to allow for an FBI investigation. The American Bar Association, which earlier endorsed Mr. Kavanaugh, and the dean of Yale Law School, which Mr. Kavanaugh attended, also called for an FBI probe, the first indication of the legal profession turning on the nominee.
The committee Republicans also voted down a Democratic motion seeking to subpoena Mark Judge, a Mr. Kavanaugh friend who Dr. Ford said witnessed the assault. Judge told the committee in a written statement he does not recall any such incident.
Senator Joe Donnelly, a moderate Democrat who last year voted for Mr. Trump's previous Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, announced he would vote against Mr. Kavanaugh. Two other key moderate Democrats who voted for Mr. Gorsuch, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin, have not announced how they will vote.
Mr. Kavanaugh could be the deciding vote on contentious legal issues if he is confirmed to the nine-member court, with disputes involving abortion, immigration, gay rights, voting rights and transgender troops possibly heading to the court soon. The court begins its next term on Monday, down one justice after the retirement of conservative Anthony Kennedy effective in July. Mr. Trump nominated Mr. Kavanaugh to replace Mr. Kennedy.
Dr. Ford testified on Thursday she was “100% certain” Mr. Kavanaugh assaulted her. Mr. Kavanaugh called himself the victim of “grotesque and obvious character assassination.”
Attention to the hearing moved far beyond the world of Washington politics. Dr. Ford has emerged in the eyes of many American women as a compelling figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault.
