Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

Floor Speech

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I am here for my customary ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, but before I get into it, given the events of the day, I just want to express my satisfaction with the turn of events in the Judiciary Committee.

As the Acting President pro tempore may know, yesterday was a rather bitter day in the Judiciary Committee, with there being a lot of anger and tribal belligerence and a nominee who was full of partisanship and conspiracy theory and invective. It really was not a good day. Yet this is a funny place, and sometimes, right after we have been at our worst, something breaks that turns things in the right direction.

Something happened in the Judiciary Committee today, much due to the concerns and the fortitude of Senator Flake, so I want to give him primary credit. I understand the Republican leadership has agreed there will be a weeklong delay in the Kavanaugh vote on the floor and that the FBI will be given a chance to do its job and take a look at the allegations that are out there about his conduct.

This is not only a good thing for the Senate--because I think it releases a lot of pent-up pressure and anxiety and hostility--but it is also a really good thing for the process because the worst possible outcome would be that we would push this candidate through, that he would then get on the Supreme Court, and it would be subsequently shown that these allegations would have been, in fact, true and that he would not have been truthful with us about it and would have lied to the Senate. To clear as much of that cloud off of him as possible, I think, is good for us, good for the Court, good for the country--good for all. So, after a grim and battering day yesterday, I think we had a productive day today. I feel I earned my pay in the Senate over in the Judiciary Committee.

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