Cornyn: Senate vote on SCOTUS postponed as FBI investigates Kavanaugh

After a tense meeting during which the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh, US Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, to the Supreme Court. told reporters in Washington, DC, that the Senate will postpone the full confirmation vote for a week while the FBI is investigating allegations of sexual assault against the candidate.

The decision came a few hours after Cornyn, the Senate's second Republican, and his Texan colleague Ted Cruz joined a 11-to-10 majority to advance the committee's appointment. The advance poll, Senator Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, called for the FBI's investigation in exchange for his support. In a statement released Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he would order the investigation.

"I think it would be appropriate to defer the vote to the hearing for up to a week to allow the FBI to conduct a limited investigation in the time and scope of the current allegations," Flake said. "I will vote to move the bill forward with this understanding.I have talked to a few other members on my side of the hall who could also help us."

Friday's vote followed a moving hearing Thursday when Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor from California, testified that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her during an evening during which Kavanaugh was in high school. Kavanaugh has emphatically denied these allegations, as well as several other allegations of sexual misconduct that have surfaced since.

After the vote on Friday, Cornyn applauded Flake for allowing the process to go forward.

I would like to "express my gratitude to Senator Flake for allowing this process to go forward," said Mr. Cornyn immediately after the vote, adding that "there are discrepancies opinions about the exact nature of the FBI investigation. "

Cornyn has been steadfast in supporting Kavanaugh for days. On Friday, he blasted "the obvious politicization of this process," which created a "circus atmosphere" that has driven the Senate into its darkest days since Senator Joseph McCarthy ruined lives and a career. the federal government.

"There has been a calculated effort to manipulate this process that is unfair to Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh, and it's shameful," Cornyn said.

The Senate still has 150 nominations waiting for its schedule because the Democrats have always worked to "hinder, delay and deny" Trump's nominees, including Kavanaugh, he said.

"I think the way Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were treated is a scandal and that it's cruel, reckless and indecent," Cornyn said.

Cruz, meanwhile, was an unusually quiet voice on the issue during Thursday's historic hearing. The junior senator carefully measured his words and encouraged the reserve of judgment throughout the process, but he was always supposed to support Kavanaugh. Cruz is the only Republican on the committee to face a tough battle of reelection in November.

When his turn came before the vote on Friday, Cruz tried to organize the hearing in the national political atmosphere.

"We live in a divided time. There is a lot of anger. There is rabies, there is hatred, "he said. "The policy of personal destruction that we have seen in recent days is Washington, DC, at its ugliest."

He accused the Democrats of trying to delay the appointment after the mid-term elections in November in the hope of keeping the seat of the Supreme Court on hold until the 2020 presidential election.

Cruz praised Ford – "The testimony that she gave yesterday was powerful. It was clear that she was suffering and suffering tremendously. – and then stated that Kavanaugh had been dragged through the mud for weeks in an unprecedented manner.

Patrick Svitek and Abby Livingston contributed to the story.