Senate

Flake: Mueller bill has votes to pass Senate

by Jordain Carney - 11/30/18 9:55 AM ET

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Friday that he believes legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller could pass the Senate, if Republican leadership would agree to bring it up for a vote.

“I do believe the votes are there on the floor if we can just get a vote, and that’s what I’m calling, let’s just have a vote,” Flake told CNN, asked about a measure that would protect Mueller from being fired without good cause.

The legislation — crafted by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — has languished for months after it passed out the Judiciary Committee. Republican leadership argues it isn’t necessary because President Trump, they believe, will not try to interfere with or fire Mueller.

{mosads}”I don’t know how we can be sanguine about what’s going on over at the Department of Justice in terms of the Mueller probe. It’s important to protect it,” Flake added on Friday.

Flake, joined by Coons and Booker, have gone to the Senate floor twice this month to try to get a vote and have been blocked both times. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said this week that the Senate GOP is measuring support for the legislation, but noted there are still objections to the bill within the caucus.

Flake is pledging to oppose all of Trump’s judicial nominees until he gets a vote on the bill, rankling his colleagues who have made confirming the president’s picks their top priority.

Flake and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are joining all 49 Democrats to oppose Thomas Farr’s district judge nomination, denying him the 50 votes needed to let Vice President Pence break a tie.

Flake’s opposition is more problematic for Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, where they have a 11-10 majority. Unless Republicans can flip a Democrat on the committee, Flake’s opposition leaves them unable to advance the president’s nominees out of the panel by the end of the year.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the committee, canceled a Thursday business meeting where nearly two dozen judicial nominees were expected to get a vote.

“We need to protect the special counsel, it’s important. Confirming judges is important,” Flake, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, said. “I want to confirm more judges … but this has to be priority now. And you have to take a stand. I have leverage because we have a narrow majority on the Judiciary Committee, so I’m using it.”