BRETT KAVANAUGH/GOP/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Republicans are racing to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, betting that the Supreme Court nominee was persuasive enough in his denial that he sexually assaulted a high school acquaintance to counter the powerful testimony of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to vote on Friday [9-28-18] morning to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) then plans a Saturday procedural vote to formally move to the nomination, with a potential confirmation vote as early as Tuesday [10-2-18]. Publicly, Republicans do not have the votes yet to confirm Kavanaugh, but GOP leaders seem confident they can push him through with brute force. Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) wouldn’t say whether undecided Republicans would back Kavanaugh.”
–Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan, “GOP barrels toward Kavanaugh vote with key Republicans undecided,” Politico, September 27, 2018 10:22 pm