The Senate could vote on Kavanaugh's nomination over the weekend. Here's how

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Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Flake said it would be “proper” to delay a Senate floor vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for a week.
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Senate Judiciary Committee members (L-R) Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Christopher Coons, and Richard Blumenthal look on during a hearing on Capitol Hill  on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty ImagesSen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., center, talks to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, left, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., during a delay in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sept. 28, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais, APSenator Kamala Harris, D-CA, along with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, right, Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, and Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii address protesters gathered at the United States Supreme Court ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2018 in Washington. Jack Gruber, USA TODAYSenate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., joined by from left, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks to media about the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Carolyn Kaster, AP

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WASHINGTON – The FBI completed its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would receive the FBI’s report Wednesday night.

The report will go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the staff will take pains to keep it from being leaked to the public while allowing all 100 senators to read it Thursday.

Whatever the FBI report shows, McConnell, R-Ky., insists that the Senate will vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination this week. A final up-or-down vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee could happen as early as Saturday.

Here’s a look at how the process would work:

1. The FBI completes its investigation.

The FBI reopened its background investigation of Kavanaugh last Friday at the request of the president. Trump ordered the action after Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he would not vote to advance Kavanaugh through the Judiciary Committee unless the FBI conducted a week-long look into sexual assault allegations against the judge. The FBI has now sent the completed report to the White House.

2. The White House sends the report to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The committee will keep the report secure and will not release it to the public, according to George Hartmann, a spokesman for Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. All 100 senators, and nine Senate staff members, will be able to review it in a secure location. 

3. Motion to end debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

McConnell filed this motion shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday. The motion, known in Senate-speak as a “cloture motion,” is the first step in holding a final vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

4. Senators vote on motion.

The procedural cloture vote will take place Friday, McConnell said. If it passes, it would effectively block any filibuster attempt by Democrats to delay a vote on Kavanaugh.

It would take only a simple majority of 51 votes to pass the motion. The Senate could then proceed to the final step: an up-or-down vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

5. An up-or-down vote on Kavanaugh.

Senators would have up to 30 hours – divided equally between Republicans and Democrats – to debate the merits of Kavanaugh’s nomination. The debate could take less than the 30-hour maximum if either party decides not to use all of its allotted time.

After the time is up, the Senate would take a final vote on whether to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. A vote could happen as early as Saturday afternoon if McConnell orders the Senate to work over the weekend.

It would take only a simple majority of 51 votes to approve Kavanaugh. Republicans hold 51 seats, while Democrats and two independents aligned with them hold the remaining 49.

Contributing: Eliza Collins, David Jackson

More: Republicans plan careful steps to protect secrecy of FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh

More: Who has FBI contacted in its investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh?

More: Jeff Flake says Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford is ‘kind of appalling’

 

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