GOP Senator suddenly says he can’t show up for Brett Kavanaugh vote
If the Republican controlled Senate wants to hold the final vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this weekend, it’ll have to do so without one of its own. GOP Senator Steve Daines, whose national profile is so low that many of you have probably never even heard the sound of his voice, has suddenly placed himself in the middle of the controversy surrounding the collapsing nomination – and his excuse for not showing up for this weekend’s planned vote is surreal.
Several major news outlets including NBC are reporting tonight that Steve Daines has announced that he can’t show up for a vote this weekend because his daughter is getting married. That’s a perfectly valid, and for that matter laudable, excuse. But the question is, why are we just hearing about this now? Mitch McConnell has spent all week publicly insisting that he’s going to hold the final vote this weekend. Daines has certainly known all along that his daughter’s wedding was scheduled for this weekend.
In other words, there has to be more to this story. Why did Daines wait until now to make an issue out of it? Has he been waiting until the last minute to raise his hand on this because he’s trying to avoid having to vote one way or the other on the increasingly radioactive Kavanaugh? Is there some other explanation?
In any case, the GOP can only afford to lose two votes. If Steve Daines isn’t in attendance, and one other Republican Senator is a “no” vote, then the nomination dies. Now we wait to see whether Mitch McConnell blinks by delaying the vote, which he’s publicly sworn he wouldn’t do. Also, will any other reluctant GOP Senators suddenly announce that they also have other longstanding plans this weekend?
