CNN anchors gushed Monday over the deal struck last week by two senators to delay the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation vote for an FBI investigation, saying it was something they would tell their kids about one day.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) helped force a delay of up to one week on a final Kavanaugh vote after saying he would not be "comfortable" with one before the FBI further investigated the sexual assault charge against him by Christine Blasey Ford. The White House acquiesced to what it said should be a narrow, focused background check.
The agreement came out after a private conversation Flake had with his friend Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on sending Kavanaugh's nomination to the floor.
"Newsroom" co-anchor Poppy Harlow played the b-roll of Flake walking over to get Coons and speak to him privately before negotiating the one-week pause on Friday.
"Great moment," co-anchor Jim Sciutto said.
"A historic moment," Harlow said. "We will tell our kids about that one day, right?"
Flake admitted to "60 Minutes" interviewer Scott Pelley that he would not have called for the delay if he were running for re-election, because there was "no incentive."
Harlow asked USA Today bureau chief Susan Page where Flake's "candid answer ... leave[s] us as a country."
"Doesn't that explain why our politics are so broken, that there is no incentive for reaching across party lines and reaching a compromise?" Page asked. "I think Senator Flake is exactly right when he says that, and I think it's incredibly illuminating to hear him describe that."
Flake, shortly after announcing he would vote "yes" on Kavanaugh's nomination, was confronted in the Senate elevator by a woman saying she was a survivor of sexual assault. She said she hoped her story helped change his mind about supporting Kavanaugh's confirmation.