McConnell issues Supreme Court ultimatum
The Senate GOP leader is vowing to squeeze Democrats with a vote on Brett Kavanaugh right before the midterms if they don’t back down on their demand for documents.
By ELANA SCHOR and BURGESS EVERETT
07/20/2018 05:00 AM EDT
Updated 07/20/2018 10:15 AM EDT
Mitch McConnell has a warning for Democrats demanding copious documents on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh: Be careful what you wish for.
The Senate majority leader privately told senior Republicans on Wednesday that if Democrats keep pushing for access to upwards of a million pages in records from President Donald Trump’s high court pick, he’s prepared to let Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote slip until just before November’s midterm elections, according to multiple sources.
Delaying the vote past September would serve a dual purpose for McConnell, keeping vulnerable red-state Democrats off the campaign trail while potentially forcing anti-Kavanaugh liberals to swallow a demoralizing defeat just ahead of the midterms. Senators said McConnell believes the Democratic base will be “deflated†if they raise hopes of defeating Kavanaugh only to lose just days before the election.
Democrats have no intention of backing down in their call for maximum transparency about Kavanaugh’s record, but the GOP is betting that they’ll start to sweat the Supreme Court timeline as the summer wears on.
“To me, it’s in their best interest to have that vote done for a lot of their red-state senators who are facing their voters,†GOP Conference Chairman John Thune said.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/20/kavanaugh-supreme-court-mcconnell-ultimatum-senate-democrats-734360
