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Home > Morning Joe > Rush Hour 4: Sen. Chuck Grassley Gives Friday Deadline for Christine Blasey Ford's Testimony Decision; GOP Senators Fear 'Drama' If She Complies


	Podcast:		Morning Joe
	Episode:		Rush Hour 4: Sen. Chuck Grassley Gives Friday Deadline for Christine Blasey Ford's Testimony Decision; GOP Senators Fear 'Drama' If She Complies
	Category:		News & Politics
	Duration:		01:30:17
	Publish Date:		2018-09-20 07:35:21
	Description:		Yesterday afternoon, Lisa Banks, the attorney representing Christine Blasey Ford, released a statement to the media, calling the Senate Judiciary Committee's rush for a sexual assault hearing involving Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh "unnecessary" and "contrary to the Committee discovering the truth." Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has been thrust into the spotlight regarding the hastened timeline of the hearing between Kavanaugh and Ford, offering to send Committee staff members out to California to interview Ford, but, at the same time, requiring her to submit a prepared testimony by Friday morning at 10am or her hearing will not happen. Several Democratic Senators, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), have since released statements announcing their formal opposition to Kavanaugh's confirmation; and, as the midterm elections draw ever closer, many Republicans are fearing voter booth backlash against their rushing-through of Kavanaugh's nomination. Most notably taking a moderate and subdued stance on the issue is President Donald Trump. While he did take a jab at Democrats over the handling of Ford's allegations in an interview with 'The Hill TV,' saying it is simply another opportunity to "obstruct and resist," the President did concede some credit to Ms. Ford. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the President said, "We want to get it over with but at the same time we want to give it tremendous amounts of time. If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesn't show up, that would be unfortunate." As Republicans struggle to figure out how exactly to navigate the Kavanaugh hearings, new midterm polling across several states shows Trump-backed GOP candidates largely behind their Democratic competitors. In the Texas Senate race, most notably, Democrat Beto O'Rourke is polling two points ahead of Republican Ted Cruz, 47% to 45%, respectively, according to a just-released Reuters poll. And, in the Florida Gubernatorial race, Democrat Andrew Gillum is ahead of Trump 'Pitbull' Ron DeSantis by 6 points, according to another Reuters poll. We'll break those numbers down, this morning; and, it's been one year since Hurricane Maria took its deadly toll on the island of Puerto Rico. Governor Ricardo Rossello joins the panel, later in the episode, to discuss his Commonwealth's recovery, and the possibility of statehood. It's Thursday, September 20, 2018. Welcome to Morning Joe.
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