McConnell promises Kavanaugh vote by end of week

Even in the shadow of an FBI investigation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is ready to move forward on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.

The Senate will be voting on Kavanaugh's confirmation "this week," McConnell said Monday in a speech on the Senate floor. Democrats may have wanted to create a "Washington D.C.-based media circus" and hold a vote off as long as possible, McConnell said, but he confirmed "the time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close."

Kavanaugh's confirmation moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, provided there be an FBI investigation into sexual assault allegations against the nominee. The investigation, per Sen. Jeff Flake's (R-Ariz.) demands, was not to last longer than a week.

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McConnell slammed those allegations as a "campaign of character assassinations" on Monday. And, in an apparent attempt to court Sen. Susan Collins' (R-Maine) still-undecided vote, the leader pulled out a clever move. Kathryn Krawczyk