GOP senator may miss Kavanaugh vote for daughter’s wedding

A GOP senator may miss a Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this weekend because his daughter is getting married on Saturday.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) will walk his daughter down the aisle for her wedding regardless of the timing of the vote, a Daines spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.

Senate Republican leaders plan to hold a key procedural vote Friday morning, setting up a potential confirmation vote for Saturday afternoon.

It is unclear if Daines’s trip will impact the timing of the vote. 

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“If there is any change to timing or any announcements on votes, we’ll be sure to get the info out as we always do,” a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office said in a statement to The Hill.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday evening that they have not had any talks with McConnell’s staff about getting a deal to move the final Saturday vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Republicans currently hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate and can only afford one defection if Democrats unanimously vote against Kavanaugh. Three Republicans remained undecided on Thursday.

Daines would be a reliable vote in favor of Kavanaugh. 

Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was upended after three women went public with allegations against him of sexual misconduct while he was in high school and college.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who was later joined by key undecided votes Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), threatened to withhold his confirmation vote if the FBI didn’t open an inquiry into the accusations.

The FBI returned the results of a weeklong investigation into the allegations to the Senate on Thursday. 

Many Senate Republicans claim that there was no corroborating evidence for any of the claims against Kavanaugh and have vowed to confirm the nominee this weekend. 

Flake and Collins both noted after reading the report that they believed the FBI investigation was thorough, indicating they may be leaning toward voting to confirm Kavanaugh.

Updated at 8:20 p.m.