All Three Swing Senators Express Disgust at Trump's Mocking of Ford
*By Carlo Versano*
Did Donald Trump overplay his hand on Brett Kavanaugh?
All three of the swing Senators ー who could collectively on Friday decide the Supreme Court nominee's fate ー reacted with indignation to President Trump's mocking imitations of Prof. Christine Blasey Ford at a Tuesday evening rally in Mississippi.
"Appalling," Sen. Jeff Flake (R-TX) said.
"Unacceptable," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said.
"Just plain wrong," Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said.
However, none of the legislators indicated that Trump's ridiculing of an alleged sexual assault victim ー met by applause from his supporters ー would be a deciding factor in how they will vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation.
As Ben Dreyfuss, editorial director at Mother Jones, told Cheddar, the vote is a no-win situation politically ー at least for Murkowski and Collins, who are both seeking re-election. Flake, on the other hand, is not running for re-election.
No Senator wants to be the deciding 50th vote to sink the nomination, Dreyfuss said. "A lot of them would be willing to be the 51st, or 52nd, or 53rd."
As of midday Wednesday, the in-progress FBI investigation remained the focal point of Capitol Hill, and eyes turned to the Senators who will end up deciding Kavanaugh's fate. As Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told Cheddar in a separate interview, the "scale and scope" of the FBI probe is still unknown.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has demanded a vote by the end of the week, and the swing Senators have been tight-lipped on their positions, opting instead to express their disgust about Trump's remarks.
"They haven't shown their cards a lot here," Dreyfuss said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/president-trumps-comments-about-kavanaugh-accuser-draw-criticism-from-key-senators).
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott says he is ending his 2024 bid for president in a move that surprised his donors and stunned his campaign staff.
House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2.
Activists protesting corporate profits, environmental abuses, poor working conditions and the Israel-Hamas war marched in downtown San Francisco on Sunday, united in their opposition to a global trade summit that will draw President Joe Biden and leaders from nearly two dozen countries.
U.S. officials say that five U.S. servicepeople were killed when a military helicopter crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea during a training mission.
FBI agents seized phones and an iPad from New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week as part of an investigation into his campaign fundraising, his attorney confirmed Friday.
A man was arrested early Friday in the alleged assault of former U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, who says she was molested as she jogged along the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, Taiwan and managing fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in a year.
a phrase about the space in between, “from the river to the sea,” has become a battle cry with new power to roil Jews and pro-Palestinian activists in the aftermath of Hamas' deadly rampage across southern Israel Oct. 7 and Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
