McConnell projects confidence but doesn't have the votes for Kavanaugh yet

[DonViejo]

While a small group of GOP senators are considered the most problematic to Kavanaugh’s confirmation, there are potentially several more watching closely.

by Leigh Ann Caldwell and Kasie Hunt / Sep.26.2018 / 5:03 AM EDT / Updated 7:37 AM EDT

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans don’t yet have the votes to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, even as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is projecting a public face of certainty.

“We're going to be moving forward. I'm confident we're going to win. I'm confident he will be confirmed in the very near future,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday afternoon. But while vote-counters are closely watching a few GOP senators considered to be most threatening to the confirmation, several more Republicans are monitoring events as they unfold and want to see how the hearing with Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexual assault in high school, will play out on Thursday.

“I know the media keeps characterizing three or four people, but I feel like it’s a large number of them that want to see firsthand the accusation and the rebuttal, and again, will be looking at it in a very sober way,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said. “So I think it’s much larger than you think.”

McConnell has launched an aggressive public pressure campaign, supporting Kavanaugh at nearly every turn, declaring a “smear campaign” against him and saying the Senate will “plow right through” the confirmation process.

And for a leader who avoids forcing his members to take politically difficult votes, McConnell has publicly issued a dare to his GOP colleagues by announcing plans for the full Senate to move forward with a vote on the confirmation. He told them privately that the Senate might stay in this weekend to do so, senators said leaving the conference lunch.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-projects-confidence-doesn-t-have-votes-kavanaugh-yet-n913116