BRETT KAVANAUGH/FBI/GOP/SENATE/SEX ABUSE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Republican leaders pressed on Tuesday [10-2-18] to wrap up the confirmation of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, seizing on word from the F.B.I. that it would complete its investigation into allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct as early as Wednesday [10-3-18]…But Mr. McConnell’s promise was as much about bluffing as it was about confidence, giving the nomination an air of inevitability even as five undecided senators will determine Judge Kavanaugh’s fate. Those five — the Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jeff Flake of Arizona, and the Democrats Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — are refusing to tip their hands. The push for a quick vote on Judge Kavanaugh came as the Senate and the White House waited for the F.B.I. to finish its work. President Trump, who has made stocking the federal judiciary with committed conservatives like Judge Kavanaugh a signature of his White House tenure, expressed qualified optimism on Tuesday, noting that this was the seventh time the nominee had undergone a background check.”
–Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Michael D. Shear, “F.B.I. to End Kavanaugh Inquiry as Soon as Wednesday, With Vote Coming This Week,” The New York Times online, October 2, 2018