Panel sends Kavanaugh nomination to full Senate

The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 Friday to send the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate.

Prior to the party-line vote, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said that he reached an accord with the Democratic minority to call for the Senate to delay a final vote on Kavanaugh by one week to allow an FBI investigation of sexual abuse allegations against the nominee, Efe reported.

Friday's session ended in confusion, as the committee chair, Republican Chuck Grassley, called an abrupt halt, citing the two-hour limit on hearings when the full Senate is in session.

Three women have accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting them several decades ago.

One of those women is Christine Blasey Ford, who attended a judiciary committee hearing on Thursday to testify that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her in 1982.

During Friday's session, Democrats accused Republicans of ignoring the alleged victim, who had to testify in public before a committee made up of a large majority of men, while they insisted on the need for the FBI to carry out an investigation into the allegations.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also criticized Kavanaugh's declarations on Thursday, when he appeared defiant and angry.

"This was not someone who reflected an impartial temperament or the fairness and even-handedness one would see in a judge, this was someone who was aggressive and belligerent," she said.

"I have never seen someone who wants to be elevated to the highest court in our country behave in that manner," Feinstein added.

Despite the meeting of minds between Flake and committee Democrats, the decision on whether to delay a vote rests with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

President Donald Trump said he was prepared to let the Senate leadership decide on the timing of vote.

"I'm going to rely on all of the people, including Sen. Grassley, who's doing a very good job," Trump said.

"That'll be a decision that they're going to make, and I suspect they'll be making some decision soon, whether to take a vote or to do whatever else they want to do," the president added.

"I will be totally reliant on what Sen. Grassley and the group decides to do," Trump told reporters during a photo opportunity in the Oval Office with visiting Chilean President Sebastian Piñera.

--IANS

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