Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake announced on Sunday that he doesn’t feel comfortable voting to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh before hearing from the woman who accused him of sexual assault.
“If they push forward without any attempt with hearing what she’s had to say, I’m not comfortable voting yes,” Sen. Flake said to Politico. “We need to hear from her. And I don’t think I’m alone in this.”
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, alleged in an interview with the Washington Post that while in high school Kavanaugh and a friend locked her in a room and he attempted to force himself onto her. (RELATED: Kavanauagh Accuser Goes Public With Assault Allegations In WaPo Interview)
Flake is one of 11 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. With 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the committee, a no vote from Flake could sink Kavanaugh’s nomination. However, the Republicans could in turn bring the nomination directly to the Senate floor, according to Politico.
The Senate Judiciary vote is scheduled for next Thursday.
Even if Kavanaugh’s nomination reached a vote on the Senate floor, there are a lot of unknown votes.
Fellow Senate Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have not come out and stated which way they would vote. It’s also unclear how some Democrat Senators from states that President Trump won in 2016, such as Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Jon Tester, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, and Sen. Joe Donnelly, will vote.
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