EPA Copyright: EPA Senator Jeff Flake could help sink Kavanaugh in the final confirmation vote if his requirements aren't met Image caption: Senator Jeff Flake could help sink Kavanaugh in the final confirmation vote if his requirements aren't met

It would be hard to top Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee drama, but Friday’s proceedings came close.

First, what we know for certain.

Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination has been approved by a straight party-line vote in the committee. It now moves floor of the Senate for a final action.

Beyond that, everything is up in the air.

Senator Jeff Flake, after saying he would back Kavanaugh, faced two emotional protesters in a gripping lift confrontation.

He then brought the committee to a standstill, holding behind-the-scenes negotiations with his Democratic colleagues.

What emerged appears to be a request for a one-week delay of the final Senate vote pending an FBI investigation.

That, minus the timeline, is what Democrats have been demanding all along – and Mr Flake may have just helped them get it.

If the White House issues the requisite instructions, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accommodates, Flake will be satisfied.

If not, the Arizona senator could help sink Kavanaugh in the final confirmation vote.

Assuming Democrats stick together, it would take only one more Republican defection to reject the nominee - and Flake isn’t the only Republican moderate still on the fence.

A verbal agreement, as they say, is seldom worth the paper it’s written on.

Plenty can happen to derail this last-minute accord. Two days of drama may just be the beginning.