UNITED STATES NEWS

Flake requests floor delay but votes yes as committee OKs Kavanaugh

Sep 28, 2018, 10:59 AM | Updated: 3:08 pm

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., after speaking during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about an inv...

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., after speaking during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about an investigation, Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. After a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court after agreeing to a late call from Sen. Flake for a one week investigation into sexual assault allegation against the high court nominee. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Friday to move forward with the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, after a dramatic request from Arizona Republican Jeff Flake for a delay of the floor vote.

The panel voted 11-10, along party lines with the Republican majority, in recommending the confirmation to the full Senate.

Later, Republican leaders went along with Flake’s request and asked President Donald Trump to direct the FBI to perform a background investigation of Kavanaugh before the final vote. Trump agreed.

Flake, whose vote had been in doubt, announced before committee convened that he would vote for Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman when they were in high school. He has denied the allegation.

But just before the vote was to take place, Flake and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Dela.) left the room to talk privately.

When they returned, before roll call began Flake said, “I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote up to but no more than a week.

Flake added later, “I’ll move it out of committee, but I will only be comfortable moving on the floor until the FBI has done more investigation then they have already. …

“We owe … due diligence.”

If there is no delay, a full Senate vote could happen as soon as Tuesday. Republicans have a 51-49 majority.

Asked what he hoped to accomplish, Flake replied: “A better process.”

Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford emotionally testified for almost nine hours Thursday, with Ford saying she was “100 percent” certain Kavanaugh attacked her at a party in the 1980s.

Republicans praised Ford’s bravery in coming forward, but many of them said her account wouldn’t affect their support for Kavanaugh.

President Donald Trump also made clear that he was sticking by his nominee. “His testimony was powerful, honest and riveting,” he tweeted. “The Senate must vote!”

Democrats opposed Kavanaugh.

The American Bar Association urged the committee and the full Senate to hold off the vote until the FBI had investigated the assault claims.

“Each appointment to our nation’s highest court (as with all others) is simply too important to rush to a vote,” the association wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

United States News

Associated Press

Crews rush to recover commuter plane found crashed on Alaska sea ice before expected snow and wind

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Just hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years, authorities raced to recover their remains and the wreckage of the small commuter plane from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow. “The conditions out there […]

5 hours ago

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens dur...

Associated Press

Trump is signing up local law officers to help with immigration enforcement

For years, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in suburban Indianapolis has wanted to partner with federal immigration authorities to identify and detain immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally and facing charges. President Joe Biden’s administration never returned its calls, the sheriff’s office said. But as President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigration, Hamilton […]

5 hours ago

Camden Lee, 16, poses for a portrait at his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Broo...

Associated Press

A 15-year-old went to a Brooklyn parade. The NYPD wrongly accused him of a mass shooting

NEW YORK (AP) — Camden Lee was leaving high school football practice in September when he saw the photograph, splashed across the New York Police Department’s social media accounts, that would soon upend his life. In a crisp surveillance image, the 15-year-old stands alone in a hoodie and shorts, eyes cast down on a Brooklyn […]

5 hours ago

Mellow, a transgender woman, poses for a portrait, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, outside of the Norfolk Cir...

Associated Press

Passport applications got more complicated for transgender Americans under new Trump policy

The day after President Donald Trump returned to office, Lisa Suhay took her 21-year-old daughter, Mellow, to a passport office in Norfolk, Virginia, where they live. Getting a passport for Mellow, who is transgender, was urgent. In an executive order Trump signed the night before, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead […]

6 hours ago

Leslie Knox stands outside her home Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Hamtramck, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul San...

Associated Press

Generations later, a remedy to destroying Black neighborhoods is fulfilled in Michigan

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (AP) — Leslie Knox was a young girl in the 1960s when her Detroit-area city was accused of destroying neighborhoods to get rid of Black residents. Decades later, the retired nurse has returned to Hamtramck, settling into a new two-story home on Gallagher Street and watching TV from a fold-up chair while she […]

6 hours ago

Patrick Mannion, owner of Osprey Whitewater, looks over the Nolichuky River, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024,...

Associated Press

A hidden gem of whitewater rafting faces an uncertain future after Hurricane Helene

ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — After 24 years of guiding whitewater trips on the Nolichucky River Gorge for other companies, Patrick Mannion finally received a permit last year to operate his own outfitter business. But following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, he doesn’t know if Osprey Whitewater will be around for a second year. Flooding driven […]

6 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Collins Comfort Masters

Collins Comfort Masters: Your go-to plumbing experts in Arizona

Collins Comfort Masters, a trusted name in HVAC, water and plumbing since 1985, is you go-to plumbers for the residents of Phoenix and the Valley.

...

Bright Wealth Management

How to save money on retirement planning following 2024 election

PHOENIX -- With the 2024 election over, economic changes could impact how people plan for retirement as 2025 is on the horizon.

...

Sanderson Ford

Sanderson Ford’s Operation Santa Claus: Spreading holiday cheer through pickleball

Phoenix, AZ – Sanderson Ford, a staple in the Arizona community, is once again gearing up for its annual Operation Santa Claus charity drive.

Flake requests floor delay but votes yes as committee OKs Kavanaugh