Congress

Kavanaugh’s former ‘sherpa’ won’t commit to vote for him

Jon Kyl

Brett Kavanaugh’s former “sherpa” isn’t saying whether he’ll vote for him.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who was guiding the Supreme Court justice through the Senate confirmation process until Kyl was appointed last month to fill the late John McCain’s Senate seat, declined to commit to a “yes” vote for Kavanaugh if and when the time comes.

“I’m not making any comments on that until after Thursday,” Kyl said Tuesday when asked about his vote. He was referring to Thursday’s Senate hearing featuring Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in high school decades ago.

Kyl, who served in the Senate previously before his recent appointment, gave an almost identical statement on Monday about how he would come down on the nomination. Dozens of other Republicans are on record in support of Kavanaugh’s nomination, and haven’t budged since Ford and another woman accused him of sexual misconduct.