Campaign Action
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to push the idea that Brett Kavanaugh’s ascension to the Supreme Court is inevitable, despite the fact that as of now he doesn't have the votes. McConnell is still trying to send a message to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and to Deborah Ramirez, who have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, that they don't need to bother testifying—the fix is already in.
In the Republican conference lunch, McConnell told members that they would be in session over the weekend, according to both Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Johnny Isakson of Georgia. The potential timeline for the votes would be a committee vote on Friday, a cloture motion to end debate on Saturday, the 30 hours of cloture debate occurring Sunday, and a floor vote Monday—when the Supreme Court begins its new session.
That's McConnell's plan, and he is clearly sending the message to Ford and to Ramirez and whatever survivors of Kavanaugh who might come forward between now and then that they might as well not bother. He is making it abundantly clear that Republicans are not interested in hearing what these women have to say.
He's playing chicken with Dr. Ford and he's playing chicken with his own conference. He doesn't have the votes right now, but he's also trying to convince them that it's inevitable. He's telling them that he will have the votes to confirm.