Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeHow fast population growth made Arizona a swing state Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Republican former Michigan governor says he's voting for Biden MORE (R-Ariz.) said Friday that he believes legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE 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.

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"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 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'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.

"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."