Republican leaders maintained their support for Brett Kavanaugh Wednesday, but the muted response from key GOP lawmakers left little doubt the Supreme Court nominee’s confirmation was uncertain.
After a third woman came forward with charges of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, all eyes at the Capitol fell on two female Republican senators who have broken with President Trump in the past — Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.
The usually talkative Collins declined to answer questions as she left a huddle with other Republican lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence in the hours after the revelations surfaced.
Meanwhile, Murkowski was seen huddling with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, in the Capitol basement.
Some close Trump allies in the Senate rallied to Kavanaugh’s defense, questioning why his latest accuser, Julie Swetnick, had not come forward earlier.
“I have a difficult time believing any person would continue to go to – according to the affidavit – ten parties over a two-year period where women were routinely gang raped and not report it,”
(R-SC).
One Republican senator acknowledged the tight spot the GOP is in.
“I think there have been many women in America who have been sexually harassed,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters. “This is no country for creepy old men — or creepy young men or creepy middle-age men.”
Then, he added, defending Kavanaugh: “This also [is] no country to deny people due process.”
