FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) questions Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg during their testimony before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign influence operations on social media platforms on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, often viewed as a possible swing vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, on Friday supported Republican Senator Jeff Flake’s call to delay voting so the FBI can conduct a background investigation.

“I applaud Senator Jeff Flake’s decision to rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process,” Manchin said in a statement. “It took courage to take a stand and call for a one-week FBI investigation to get to the bottom of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. This has been a partisan and divisive process.”