John Boehner has told Senate Republicans that he is not prepared to consider a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court until after the midterm elections, a move that could make the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a tougher sell for Democrats than it has been in recent years.
“I would prefer not to have a vote before November and have a chance to try and find some way to come up with something to put Brett on the court,” Boehner said in an interview on Tuesday with the conservative Heritage Foundation, a think tank.
“That would be a great way to try to make the case that he’s qualified and worthy of the position and not have a debate before November.
But that’s not going to happen.
I am not going into a fight right now.
We are not in a debate right now.”
Boehner, who has been a staunch opponent of the Kavanaugh nomination, has been one of the few Republicans to have publicly backed Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Trump last month.
The Senate will vote on the nomination on Thursday, with a 60-vote threshold needed to break a filibuster.
But Democrats are unlikely to be able to overcome the 52-48 margin to move forward with a confirmation vote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that the Senate is not going back to the pre-election schedule and will likely take up the nomination of Kavanaugh on Wednesday, when the Senate adjourns for the Memorial Day recess.
The Republican majority in the Senate also will likely vote to confirm Kavanaugh before the end of the month, which is a procedural tactic that was used last year to confirm the nomination.
McConnell, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, said the Senate will be working to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the court in a bipartisan fashion.
“He is a man of the highest integrity,” McConnell said of Kavanaugh.
“He has never been in a conflict of interest.
He has never received money from the Clintons, and that is a clear fact.”
Bryan Garner, a spokesman for McConnell, declined to comment on Boehner’s comments.
But in a statement on Monday, Schumer called for a vote in the House.
“It is time for the Senate to vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure a bipartisan vote,” Schumer said.
“If we do not, I am confident the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up Judge Kavanaugh for a full and open vote before the midterms, which should allow the American people to have their say on this historic nomination.”
Democrats have been pushing for an early vote on Brett Kavanaugh, which would require a majority of the Senate.
But Senate Republicans are not inclined to allow that, and the Senate would be required to take up Kavanaugh’s case in the lame duck session, which begins in January.
Republicans have said they will not consider a hearing on Brett’s nomination until after Democrats retake control of the House of Representatives, and Boehner has signaled he is open to that idea.
But his office said Boehner’s office did not say he was willing to hold a vote.
Democrats are also pressing for a more thorough investigation into allegations that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a former classmate in high school, which was made public in a Washington Post article published Tuesday.
The story also detailed allegations made by several other women who said they were assaulted by Kavanaugh, some of whom came forward after the publication of the article.