The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote Friday on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, setting up a Saturday procedural vote by the full Senate and a final confirmation vote by Tuesday.
“The committee will be voting in the morning … We’re very optimistic,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The decision to proceed with the voting came just a few hours after the conclusion of an emotion-packed hearing that aired a decadesold sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh and his own fiery defense.
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But Republicans don’t even know if they have the votes yet.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said after a closed-door GOP meeting Thursday night that the leadership has not determined whether they have at least 50 votes needed to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination on the Senate floor.
“They haven’t done a whip count,” Cassidy said after the meeting.
Among the undetermined votes are Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
In addition to Murkowski, Collins and Flake, there are other GOP lawmakers who appear undecided. “I’m going to review it overnight before I say anything else,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said.
Republicans decided to move forward after an hour-long meeting to talk about the hearing and their views on Kavanaugh.The room erupted in applause when Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Judiciary Committee chairman, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., walked in.
Graham, a member of the committee, delievered a passionate speech in defense of Kavanaugh and excoriated Democrats for their handling of the allegation against the nominee, which they keep hidden for weeks until the confirmation process was nearly over.
Al Weaver contributed to this report.
