The FBI's supplemental background check into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be wrapped up soon enough to allow a Senate vote this week, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday.
The Trump administration expects an FBI report soon, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, one official told USA TODAY.
“We’ll have an FBI report this week, and we’ll have a vote this week,” McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.
McConnell noted that only senators would be able to see the report. He did not say how long he'd wait to schedule a vote after the report was released.
President Donald Trump said he expects there to be a vote by week's end.
"And I think the process – I must say, I think – hopefully, as Mitch said, they'll have a vote by the end of the week, and it will be a positive vote. But it will be dependent on what comes back from the FBI," Trump said Tuesday. "The FBI – the FBI is working. They're working very hard. And let's see what happens."
The Justice Department referred questions about the probe back to the White House.
According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the White House will receive the report, which it will then give to the committee.
White House officials said they do not expect to comment publicly on the file, but may confirm its receipt because of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this case.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for a slowdown in the process, suggesting senators should have a day to study the FBI report before deciding Kavanaugh's fate.
"A Supreme Court nominee must, whatever their politics, be a shining example of someone who tells the truth," Schumer tweeted. "Every Senator now must assess these serious allegations, and consider whether Judge Kavanaugh has the temperament, independence, and credibility to serve."
Early Wednesday afternoon, Democrats didn’t seem to have much information about the FBI report and how it would be rolled out.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, said she expects to see the report on Thursday but “that’s just my estimation. I don’t know.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, whose votes are considered key to the nomination, both said they were satisfied with the pace of the process.
The primary focus of the investigation has been the sexual assault claim of Christine Blasey Ford, who says she was attacked by Kavanaugh while both were in high school 36 years ago. Ford, who testified before lawmakers last week, acknowledged difficulty in remembering details of the episode, including where and when it happened.
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The FBI was given a week to conduct its probe. As of Tuesday, the bureau has interviewed at least five key witnesses.
As of Wednesday morning, the FBI still had not contacted Ford, her lawyers said.
Attorney Michael Avenatti said Wednesday that agents also had not contacted his client, Julie Swetnick, who alleges in a sworn statement that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, tried to get teenage girls drunk so they could be "gang raped" by multiple boys
Lawyers for Deborah Ramirez, who claims that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm party when they were freshmen at Yale University, confirmed that the FBI had reached out to Ramirez and that she was cooperating with the investigation.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all the allegations.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, Erin Kelly, Nicole Gaudiano
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