Having reviewed the FBI’s supplemental background investigation, the White House said on Thursday it was “fully confident” that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would be confirmed.
“With Leader McConnell’s cloture filing, Senators have been given ample time to review this seventh background investigation,” said Raj Shah, the principal deputy press secretary for the White House. “This is the last addition to the most comprehensive review of a Supreme Court nominee in history, which includes extensive hearings, multiple committee interviews, over 1,200 questions for the record and over a half million pages of documents. With this additional information, the White House is fully confident the Senate will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House did not find any support in the report for the allegations of sexual misconduct lobbed against Kavanaugh. Lawyers for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford have criticized the FBI’s latest investigation for not interviewing their client. Senators will be able to review the report on Thursday under tight security.
With a slim Senate majority, Kavanaugh’s fate hinges on three GOP senators: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Jeff Flake. Should Republicans lose any votes, Sens. Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp will be looked to as his next best hope.
