Citing the guilty plea of President Trump's personal lawyer, Alabama's junior senator Wednesday called for a pause on the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) said a delay would allow time for the "dust to settle," following the Michael Cohen plea deal. Democrats believe Cohen's claim that he committed a campaign finance violation "at the direction of the candidate," could set the stage for a possible impeachment. "The president is under a cloud," Jones told MSNBC. "It is certainly undermining the presidency at this point; we need to see how this point, you can't ever determine where this will ever end up."
Jones's stance was echoed by other Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). But Republicans made it clear: there will be no delay. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the Democrats' call as "desperate and pathetic." The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh will begin as scheduled next month.
Photo: Getty Images