Senate Judiciary Committee Votes To Approve Kavanaugh... After Dumbest Flake Move Ever
But not without tense drama.
After hearing gripping, powerful testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and then listening to Brett Kavanaugh yell at United States senators for several hours, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened this morning amid a firestorm set off by Jeff Flake announcing that he planned to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.
And then Republicans ran their mouths and Flake started having severe reservations about the ramrod nature of these proceedings.
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After leaving the room with Democratic Senators and then camping out in the anteroom to be lobbied, Flake returned and called for a delay of one week to conduct an FBI investigation. But he voted to advance the nomination anyway? So he got… nothing out of this but an empty promise?
Jesus, this guy is the dumbest politician in American history.
Now he COULD have said he’s voting “no” until and unless the committee receives the results of an investigation and conducts whatever hearings are appropriate based on those findings. But he gave up that leverage because he’s the dullest tool in the shed.
What happens now? There’s not really anything to stop McConnell from taking Flake’s request and telling him to shove it. The committee voted to approve the nomination so… that’s all he needs. There’s nothing binding about this at all.
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Does Jeff Flake play poker? Because I’d like to play poker with Jeff Flake.
UPDATE: Lisa Murkowski appears to be backing Flake in this move. Assuming McConnell doesn’t have a red state Dem up his sleeve, that means Flake’s gambit might work. But it was still far clumsier than keeping all of this in the committee.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.