WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Latest on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the new FBI investigation (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Senate Democrats want to hear directly from the FBI about the results of its background investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader from New York, says the Senate should be briefed by the FBI at least 24 hours before an initial procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
He says it’s important that senators have a chance to ask directly about what the FBI investigated, what evidence they collected and who they interviewed.
Schumer made his request in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell has said the Senate will be voting on Kavanaugh this week.
At the request of senators, President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to conduct a background investigation this week into the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh. The agency has been interviewing witnesses.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
1:26 p.m.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key undecided vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, says she’s not worried that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving too fast on the nomination this week. McConnell has promised a floor vote this week, even as the FBI continues to probe Kavanaugh’s background.
Asked about McConnell pledge to move forward with the vote, Murkowski told The Associated Press that McConnell “talked about a vote a last week, too.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, another undecided Republican, was riding with Murkowski on an underground Senate train. Collins smiled and told her colleague, “Good answer.”
Murkowski and Collins both say they are satisfied with the scope and pace of the FBI’s probe.
