In the United States, the fight over Kavanaugh between the Democrats and the Republicans moved into a new phase when Trump allowed the FBI to conduct an investigation within a week. Three alleged sexual harassment allegations have been raised against Brett Kavanaugh, who has been nominated for an Associate Justice at the Supreme Court by Trump. The allegations delayed Kavanaugh's Senate approval process. The FBI is said to be investigating only two of the allegations. The Democrats demand that the FBI involve his other accuser, Julie Swetnick.
Republican Senator Jeff Flake played a major role in the FBI's follow-up background investigation against Kavanaugh. The Trumpists are enraged at Senator Flake, whom they accused of making concessions to the Democrats. The Kavanaugh issue also led to a divide among the Catholic conservatives. In my former column, I have mentioned that the "America" magazine, one of the Jesuit-Catholic publications, decided not to support Kavanaugh. The magazine called for the withdrawal of Kavanaugh's nomination. Trumpist Jesuits accused the magazine of cowardice.
If the FBI investigation does not constitute an obstacle for Kavanaugh's nomination, voting will be held at the Senate General Assembly. Senator Flake said he would give an affirmative vote if the FBI investigation does not deliver enough evidence against Kavanaugh. No more than three Republican senators are expected to take an opposing position if they do not find the FBI's investigation satisfactory. Trumpists believe that they will compensate such a deficiency by means of the Democratic senators in the states that are ruled by Republicans. Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp, Democratic senators of West Virginia and North Dakota among the states in question, voted "yes" to Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated as judge by Trump last year. The two senators, who are preparing for the November elections, are also expected to vote for Kavanaugh. Republicans have two extra votes in the Senate. If the voting results in 50-50, U.S. Vice President and Senate President Mike Pence’s vote will be determinant.
If Kavanaugh is approved, the Democrats will make the issue an element of campaign in the November elections. If the Democrats win the majority in Congress, they will attempt to dismiss Kavanaugh. If the Democrats fail to secure the majority, they will bring up the issue in the 2020 elections. The dismissal of a member of the Supreme Court who has served for a lifetime is almost identical to the dismissal of U.S. presidents. For the dismissal of Kavanaguh, 67 votes are required in the 100-member Senate. However, both parties have not achieved a two-third majority in the Senate since 1967. Due to the severity of the political and cultural disagreements in the United States, a bilateral agreement does not seem to be possible. So the Democrats want Kavanaugh's approval process to be delayed as long as possible.
Currently, four conservatives and four liberals, eight judges in total, serve at the Supreme Court. In the event that Kavanaugh is not approved or his candidacy is withdrawn, the Court can proceed with eight judges until 2020. The court is ideologically blocked by these eight judges. In court, more than 40 court cases regarding political polemic issues between the two parties are ongoing. The approval of Kavanaugh may also affect the Russia Investigation conducted by Robert Mueller. Trump refers this investigation to as the "Witch Hunt."
It is known that Trump is not open to any alternative for Kavanaugh. That's why the White House doesn't have a plan B. Even if the Democrats dominate the Senate in the November elections, Trump's advisors are said to have advised Trump not to nominate a candidate based on a two-party deal of the two parties. According to Trumpists, the “two-party agreed candidate” will be the reward for the Democrats. Based on the comments in the American media, Trump will put forward this issue in a public meeting as a political trump card before the 2020 elections if the Supreme Court proceeds with a balanced four-to-four members
