From Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s all-but-assured confirmation to revelations about President Trump’s wealth, here are some of this week’s biggest stories in American politics. (And some links if you wish to read further.)
Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation is all but assured.
After devastatingly divisive confirmation hearings and an F.B.I. review of sexual misconduct allegations, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was secured Friday after Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said they would back him. [Read the story]
A final vote is expected late Saturday afternoon. [Here’s how they voted Friday on advancing the confirmation.]
After Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would be the lone Republican to withhold support for Judge Kavanaugh, Ms. Collins delivered a 45-minute defense of her decision to confirm the judge. [Read Friday’s On Washington here.]
The likely successful confirmation of his second nominee to the Supreme Court capped what appeared to be one of Mr. Trump’s most successful weeks in office. [Read the news analysis]
Additional Reading
• Kavanaugh Has Regrets About His Testimony: ‘I Said a Few Things I Should Not Have Said’
• Kavanaugh Proceedings Drive a Senate Once Governed by Decorum Into Rancor
• House Democrat Promises Kavanaugh Investigation if Party Wins Control
• Retired Justice John Paul Stevens Says Kavanaugh Is Not Fit for Supreme Court
A New York Times investigation revealed new details about President Trump’s wealth.
A Times investigation published this week found that President Trump engaged in suspect tax schemes as he reaped the benefits of his father’s wealth. [Read the investigation here]
President Trump on Wednesday dismissed the story, calling it an “old, boring and often-told hit piece.” But he did not outright deny the facts in the article. [Read the story]
New York officials said on Thursday that they had joined state regulators in investigating whether taxes had been underpaid on the elder Mr. Trump’s wealth. [Read the story]
Additional Reading
• Sanders Dismisses The Times’s Trump-Tax Story as ‘Very Boring’
