The confirmation vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been postponed and a committee hearing on the sexual assault allegation made by a California woman is scheduled for Monday. Both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Professor Christine Blasey Ford, will testify.
The White House issued a statement reading: “Judge Kavanaugh looks forward to a hearing where he can clear his name of this false allegation.”
Republicans appear to have rushed their decision without consulting with any of their Democratic counterparts. “No one told us,” a spokesperson for Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said immediately after hearing the news Monday evening.
Republicans’ sudden urgency seems to be a product of GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ demand that a hearing be held and the fact that Democrats are calling for the FBI to investigate the claim before moving forward with a hearing.
“I strongly believe that the FBI has to investigate,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told MSNBC Monday shortly after hearing the news. “If we don't do it before the hearing, we're going to be shooting in the dark.”
A Monday hearing won’t give the FBI enough time to properly investigate Ford’s claims. All that said, Republicans’ initial posture Monday morning was that the vote should proceed as scheduled and a private staffer phone call would suffice in terms of hearing out Kavanaugh and Ford on the new development. That all changed rather quickly.