“ ‘Somebody’s got to explain this to Trump, so I guess that’ll be my job.’ ” — Sen. Lindsey Graham

That was South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s response to reporters following a Friday vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee that advanced the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh—with a twist.

Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who is not seeking re-election, moved the Kavanaugh nomination along but not in the manner that appeared certain only minutes prior. Flake conditioned his vote on the allowance of a one-week delay of the Senate floor vote, during which time the Federal Bureau of Investigation would be instructed to probe sexual-assault allegations leveled against the 53-year-old federal appellate judge, who is defending himself against allegations that he assaulted Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor from California, when they were both teenagers in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.