Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination hangs in the balance.
He testified before Congress in a bid to save his chances.
But this closed door meeting just sealed his fate.
Kavanaugh Rises To The Occasion
Republicans met behind closed doors to discuss where they stood after Kavanaugh testified.
Earlier in the day, Republicans were nervous.
Republican leadership botched Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony.
They allowed prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question her.
She did not press Ford on her story and she let Ford come across as sympathetic.
But that all changed after Kavanaugh’s fiery testimony.
He blasted the Democrats for engaging in a political hit job.
Kavanaugh stated, “This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election. Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
Kavanaugh won praise from Donald Trump for his testimony.
Trump tweeted:
Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!
Republicans Plan To Push Nomination Through
Republicans met as a caucus to discuss their plans for Kavanaugh.
His prospects improved when Mitchell told them that she did not have enough evidence to even get a search warrant against Kavanaugh.
Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times tweeted:
Rachel Mitchell, Republican’s outside questioner, privately told GOP senators tonight that based on the evidence she heard at the hearing, she would not have prosecuted or even been able to obtain a search warrant, according to three Republicans
Anti-Trump RINO Bob Corker also announced he was supporting Kavanaugh.
That brought Republicans up to 48 “yes” votes.
The only holdouts are pro-abortion RINOs Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and anti-Trump RINO Jeff Flake.
However, Flake looks like he is leaning toward voting “yes”.
“If you’re making an allegation, you want there to be some corroboration. And that’s a tough standard,” Flake said. “I want to give it some thought tonight. I do. So, this is a tough decision. It really is.”
Christine Blasey Ford gave no corroboration for her claim.
In fact, the witnesses she cited all backed up Kavanaugh’s denial that he was ever at a party with her.
Republicans came out of the meeting with a plan.
The Judiciary Committee will vote first on Friday, and then a procedural vote will be held over the weekend.
Republicans plan to hold a final vote on Tuesday.
This signals that they have the 51 Republican votes lined up to confirm Kavanaugh.
We will keep you up to date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
