♪ ♪ >> we are waiting for president trump to arrive for a campaign rally in west virginia. also tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span, we are live in montana, where u.s. senator jon tester debates his

republican challenger. while we wait for president come to arrive, here is a portion on today's washington journal king of the impact of the senate judiciary hearing with brett kavanaugh and christine blase for on capitol hill. "washington journal" continues. host: we're joined by andrew egger from the "weekly standard ." andrew, what was your reaction to senator flake calling for a week's delay into the investigation into judge kavanaugh? guest: it was a madhouse. we did not expect it. jeff flake came out in the morning and essentially said he supportded to judge kavanaugh's nomination, and that they scheduled a vote that morning to come back and vote at 1:30 p.m. to send his nomination to the full senate. they get back, and immediately it is clear something is crazy. something is going

unexpectedly, and it is clear that flake has been talking to the minority and having second thoughts. there was not a lot of republicans did you get it may only have a one-c majority on the jud >> he has made it clear, he is not going to vote to confirm the nominee unless they go forward with the fbi investigation which has now been ordered. it seems to be the case he had been in communication with other swing vote senators in making that decision. what do you think was the specific tipping point for senator flake?

what changed his mind between announcing in the morning he was going to vote for the nomination and coming to the judiciary committee saying i will vote him out that i have to have this investigation before i will vote for him on the floor of the senate? guest: there's a lot that has been made of some interacts -- interactions flake has had in the capital with folks who have become folk heroes. i think there's something to that. jeff flake is also less politically beholden than some other senators because he is not running for reelection. he is on his way out in a few months. i think he sat down and talked to members of the minority, and where as most republicans on the committee have essentially approached the democrat's request for further fbi investigation as a partisan political move, and there is some reason to believe that, i think flake in his conversations with some members of the minority, made the judgment that this was the kind of thing that

would be the right move to make a good faith in order to try to heal some of the rage and partisan animus. we will see what happens. i think his intentions were on the up and up at the least. host: one of the things that anyone who watches the senate knows is that senators do not like to be deprived. how blindsided was senator grassley, chairman of the senate judiciary committee, and senator mcconnell, majority leader of the senate, when flake made the announcement he would not vote for the nomination on the floor unless he had a one-week delay and investigation? guest: it was amazing to watch 1:30, when they were supposed to come in and it looked like they were going to push the nomination through and the drama had already happened. circumspect,retty he doesn't display a lot of emotion other than occasionally irritation. when they came in, he

essentially gaveled in, and he said senator flake has something to say, flake said his peace, and it was amazing, none of the sensors could figure out what the next move was. -- none of the senators could figure out what the next move was. they didn't know what he was demanding. some of the democratic senators thought flake was going to propose an amendment that would a week delay for an fbi investigation, but instead he voted to approve the motion to advance him out of the senate. that removes some of his own leverage, but even the democrats on the committee were very confused in that moment. there were a lot of people going around and trying to figure it out. obviously they gaveled out of the hearing very quickly. senator grassley abruptly brought it to an end so everybody could go behind, away from the cameras and hash out what was going to happen next.

there is anybody at least in terms of political capability who can handle this last second bomb, it is senator mcconnell, who is at the least very capable of handling the politics of these sorts of things. but it was a curveball even for him. host: was it clear that senator grassley new what senator flake was going to do before he suggested it or was that his first time hearing it? guest: i think he knew about 10 or 15 minutes prior to flake saying his peace, because they were scheduled to vote at 1:30, and that comes and goes, people are coming in and out of the committee room, and immediately after grassley gavels and, he says that flake wants to say something. he knew something was afoot. host: we want you to join in the conversation. we are talking about the breck kavanaugh nomination and we will use the same lines again for this hour. if you support the brett kavanaugh nomination, call the

numbers on your screen. if you oppose, call the numbers ice cream. -- number on the screen. once again, you can always reach us on social media on twitter and facebook. let's go to tracy calling from texas. tracy opposes the nomination. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. i did have a statement i wanted to make, regarding dr. schapiro's segment. there were faxed to what he was saying as far as how the leadership in the congress as well as the senate is becoming more and more radicalized. had spoken toma this, it is fine for people have

opposing views, but when the views become so radical that there is no opportunity for consensus, it is not healthy for the country or the government. ford, i aming dr. saddened to hear so many people who are basically condemning this woman for something she did as a child. when i listen to the story, my heart went out to her. obviously no one would advise their child, their daughter, to be in that type of setting. you can relate to the fact that as a child, you are already in a situation that you know you're not supposed to be in in the first place, and this is what happens to a lot of victims. at the end of the day, you are able to comprehend that if you go to adults and report what happened to you, someone is going to say to you that you are blamed for the -- for being in

the situation to begin with. the fact there is no compassion or mercy for dr. ford in that situation is very distressing. that's my only comment, thank you so much. host: let's go to dede, calling from massachusetts. dede is not sure about the nomination. caller: thank you so much, i appreciate the opportunity to speak. i was not sure, so i watched very carefully. i have to say, i believe that what i am now seeing in this country on the left is the use of tradecraft. this is not brainstorming to come up with solutions, this is to me watching organized tradecraft, the attempt to completely destroy an american citizen. mr. schapiro said in the last eventhat he thought the

was something good at the end, and i wonder if ashley kavanaugh would agree with that. when i saw dianne feinstein looking rather abashed with judge kavanaugh was railing out, as i think any human being would onlyhe seemed to be the one even a little ashamed of the fact that they had held of the letters so long, that it was her law firm -- which, by the way, it was strange she had no idea about them coming to california, that all of a sudden, she can fly, when before lawyers said she couldn't. to me, this is tradecraft and blackhawks type of stuff and it is printing. -- is frightening. ♪ ♪