Bob Corker further deflates Brett Kavanaugh nomination
In the hours since Christine Blasey Ford went public with her accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, we’re seeing Senate Republicans performing a delicate dance tonight. Several of them now face the no-win situation of outraging their wealthy donors by voting against Kavanaugh, or ending their political careers by voting for Kavanaugh. Now yet another GOP Senator has let some more air out of the quickly deflating nomination.
First there was Jeff Flake, who isn’t running for reelection but who seemingly harbors future political ambitions, publicly stated that he’s not willing to vote “yes” on Brett Kavanaugh if the Senate Judiciary Committee vote it held this week. Then Lindsey Graham stated that he was willing to reopen committing hearings if Ford wants to testify. Susan Collins gave a bizarre response to a reporter which suggested that she had no idea what to do. Then came Bob Corker, who isn’t even on the committee, but who nonetheless can derail the nomination.
Bob Corker, who is also not seeking reelection, announced this evening that he believes the Senate Judiciary Committee should not hold a vote until Ford has had the opportunity to tell her story. On some level, Corker may simply be backing up his friend Flake. But as Palmer Report explained yesterday, the eleven Republicans on the committee won’t want to advance Kavanaugh out of committee if he’s not going to survive a full Senate vote, because then this debacle will forever be held around their necks.
So it’s not a small thing that Corker – who could conceivably vote “no” in full Senate hearings if he’s not comfortable with how this is playing out – is publicly telling his fellow Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to start inching away from Brett Kavanaugh. Any two Republican Senators can kill this nomination. It now looks like more than two of them are wavering.
