Former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said that voting against his confirmation would have been personally satisfying.
The Republican, who has a history of trading insults with President Trump, rehashed his role in the Kavanaugh confirmation process in an interview with the Washington Post published Tuesday. After Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused the judicial nominee of sexual misconduct, Flake was the lone GOP voice calling for an FBI investigation into the allegation.
The viral moment that gave him the “resolve” to call for the investigation took place when he was confronted by female activists in an elevator.
“I wish that [the investigation] could have started earlier and gone longer,” Flake explained. “And been more thorough. But it was not insignificant. You can’t make those public or nobody would ever submit themselves to appointments or elected office, but I wish the country could have read it.”
The former senator then noted that his vote to confirm Kavanaugh was not a “party-over-conscience vote” and added, “There would have been nothing more satisfying to me than to deny the president.”
“Given his boorish and bullying behavior and remarks about Dr. Ford and whatnot, that would have been immensely satisfying,” Flake continued. “But it would have, I thought, set a precedent that would be dangerous in the long term if we had an allegation that was uncorroborated — that, in and of itself, could sink a nomination. That’s territory that the Senate shouldn’t be in.”
Kavanaugh was confirmed in October 2018, with a 50-48 vote. One senator abstained, and another was absent. Flake, along with 48 other Republican senators, voted to confirm Kavanaugh, as did Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
