2. “The F.B.I. should interview anybody that they want within reason, but you have to say within reason.”

President Trump authorized “a very comprehensive” F.B.I. investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against his nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. Earlier, the White House and Senate Republicans had given the F.B.I. a list of just four people to question.

The president said he would not object if the bureau wanted to question Judge Kavanaugh or even a third accuser, a woman who was left off the initial witness list.

The simmering confirmation process went unremarked at the Supreme Court, which, following longstanding tradition, convened on the first Monday in October. First up on the court’s calendar: the fate of the dusky gopher frog, in danger of extinction.