Report: George W. Bush Calling Up Lawmakers to Push for ‘Yes’ Vote on Kavanaugh

Former President George W. Bush has reportedly been calling up lawmakers in recent days and pushing them to vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Sources cited by The Washington Post late Thursday said Bush has been trying to sway some senators who are key votes in the confirmation process but are unlikely to be receptive to President Trump. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are crucial in deciding Kavanaugh’s fate, but on the eve of a committee vote set for Friday, they were still undecided. The four reportedly met privately late Thursday but still had not reached a conclusion. “We’re still talking. There’s no decisions made on anything, I can assure you of that,” Manchin told Bloomberg News. He said there were still “some concerns” to be addressed before any decision can be made. Kavanaugh worked under Bush as an associate counsel and later a staff secretary, and it was Bush who nominated him to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2006.