President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to investigate Judge Kavanaugh, delaying his confirmation to the Supreme Court by up to a week.
“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House. “As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”
A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Jeff Flake urged Senate Majority Mitch McConnell to delay the Senate confirmation vote, citing his hope for more civility to the process.
Flake took a last-minute stand after conferring with Senate Democrats on Friday afternoon, publicly stating his wishes for the FBI to investigate Kavanaugh for recent accusations of sexual misconduct.
Kavanaugh signaled his willingness to cooperate with the investigation, despite repeated delays.
“Throughout this process, I’ve been interviewed by the FBI, I’ve done a number of ‘background’ calls directly with the Senate, and yesterday, I answered questions under oath about every topic the Senators and their counsel asked me,” he said in a statement released by the White House. “I’ve done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate.”
Trump has shown surprising deference to Senate Republicans who continue to concede to the efforts by Democratic senators to delay the vote. Earlier Friday, he said he was willing to let the Senate continue the process, despite rumors of another delay.
“I’m going to let the Senate handle that,” he told reporters at the White House. “They’ll make their decisions, and they’ve been doing a good job, and very professional.”
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