The Senate Judiciary Committee’s plans to vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 1:30 p.m. ET appeared to have been delayed as members of the committee shuffled in and out of a back room off of the hearing room where they’re meeting.
At about 1:15 p.m. ET, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse suggested to Chairman Chuck Grassley that he formally push back the vote.
“Mr. Chairman, given what’s happening in the ante room, I think if some more time is needed, I think you’d get a unanimous consent to push the boat back pretty easily. If you needed a few more minutes,” he said
“We made a decision to vote at 1:30. If there some reason to change that ”we’ll discuss later,” Grassley responded.
As of 1:45 p.m. ET, there had been no public announcement by Grassley or any of the other members what was causing the delay.
Intrigue about any potential backroom discussion about Kavanugh’s contentious confirmation began about an hour prior. Sen. Jeff Flake left the hearing room, having waved his opportunity to make remarks about the pending committee vote. Flake had earlier Friday announced via statement that he was supporting Kavanaugh’s nomination.
A few Democrats followed him out of the room. According to CNN, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) had some discussion with Flake.
Members and their staff have been shuffling in and out of the room since.
