--- title: This Photo of the Kavanaugh Hearing Helped Defined 2018 description: Senator Chris Coons describes the meaning behind the story of a picture of Sen. Jeff Flake deliberating over the Supreme Court Justice. canonical: https://time.com/5482856/time-top-10-photos-2018-jeff-flake-brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford/ author: Chris Coons article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-20T16:26:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:01.312Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why This Picture of Jeff Flake at the Brett Kavanaugh Hearing Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018 og:description: Senator Chris Coons, who was there, describes the deeper meaning of the image og:url: https://time.com/5482856/time-top-10-photos-2018-jeff-flake-brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabf688c8797ab985/698941b122fb85a403e276c1/david-butow-jeff-flake-top-10-photos-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3040 og:image:height: 1710 og:image:alt: Top 10 Photos 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why This Picture of Jeff Flake at the Brett Kavanaugh Hearing Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018 twitter:description: Senator Chris Coons, who was there, describes the deeper meaning of the image twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabf688c8797ab985/698941b122fb85a403e276c1/david-butow-jeff-flake-top-10-photos-2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why This Picture of Jeff Flake at the Brett Kavanaugh Hearing Was One of the Most Important Photos of 2018 > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=f6210353-176b-4ee7-bdab-7fe60e2e274d&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Sen. Jeff Flake Shifts and Indicates He Can Only Support Kavanaugh After FBI Investigation [Watch (HLS stream): Sen. Jeff Flake Shifts and Indicates He Can Only Support Kavanaugh After FBI Investigation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GGPdsWNx.m3u8) (2:36)  _Published 2018-09-28. Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake requested that the Senate delay its full vote for a week to allow for an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh._ by [Chris Coons](https://time.com/author/sen-chris-coons/) ## Chris Coons Dec 20, 2018 4:26 PM UTC  Jeff Flake, center, listens to fellow GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, right, on Sept. 28, moments after Flake called for a delay in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation. His change of heart proved brief; eight days later he joined a slim majority to elevate Kavanaugh to the bench. Jeff Flake, center, listens to fellow GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, right, on Sept. 28, moments after Flake called for a delay in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation. His change of heart proved brief; eight days later he joined a slim majority to elevate Kavanaugh to the bench. David Butow—Redux for TIME by [Chris Coons](https://time.com/author/sen-chris-coons/) ## Chris Coons Dec 20, 2018 4:26 PM UTC This is a clear reminder of just how strong the pressure is against anyone who seeks to listen to their conscience in Washington today. It’s difficult to overstate just how isolated [Senator Jeff Flake](http://time.com/5410740/jeff-flake-kavanaugh-vote-photo/) was in this moment. Every other Republican on the Judiciary Committee was determined to vote then for Judge Brett Kavanaugh and he was on his own in holding out for a weeklong delay for an FBI investigation. This shows in public the same dynamic that I saw in private, back in the anteroom when he first tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I want to talk for a minute.” Within a few minutes, Senator Amy Klobuchar joined us, and then Senator John Cornyn and Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Lindsey Graham. It turned into a very heated exchange that went on for an hour and a half. Ultimately, Jeff said, “I just want to hear from him,” and pointed at me. There was no place to go, so the two of us went into a phone booth back in the anteroom. I made a call to another Republican colleague to see if she would be willing to support him, and he made a call to leadership in the Department of Justice to make sure that they could deliver the kind of investigation we had in mind, on the timeline we had in mind. I got an up-close and personal exposure to what it was like for Jeff to be at the very center of intense lobbying. I think this photograph captures the moment in time very well. You can see in Jeff’s face how much he is struggling. He’s a conservative. He’s always been a political conservative. He wanted a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. But he found [Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony](http://time.com/5476021/christine-blasey-ford-legacy/) compelling, and he’s very concerned about the ways in which our country was being torn apart at this time. I appreciated that in this moment, Jeff listened to my urgent request for him to consider a weeklong delay and an FBI investigation. Ultimately, I was disappointed that the FBI investigation was not broader. I was disappointed that [Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed](http://time.com/5417538/bett-kavanaugh-confirmed-senate-supreme-court/). I was disappointed in Senator Flake’s vote, but there are many other things about our working partnership and our friendship that I will continue to appreciate. And I continue to respect him. The Senate will be a harder place without Senator Flake next year. It will have a lost a really important voice for principle in the Republican Party. _To see TIME’s top 10 photos of 2018, click_ [_here_](http://time.com/time-top-10-photos-of-2018/)_. To see its top 100 photos, click_ [_here_](http://time.com/2018-photos/)_._ ## Transcript As a point of personal privilege, I'm gonna call on Senator Flake to speak. Normally, we would start the vote right now but as a point of personal privilege I would call on Senator Flake. Thank you. I have been speaking with a number of people on the other side. We've had conversations ongoing for a while with regard to. Making sure that we do two diligent here and I think it would be proper to delay the four vote for up to not more than one week. In order to let the FBI continue to do an investigation limited in time and scope. To the current allegations that are there, and limit in time to no more than one week, and I will vote to advance the bill to the floor with that understanding, and I've spoken to a few other members who on my side of the aisle that maybe supported this as well But that's my position. I think that we ought to do what we can to make sure that we do all due diligence with a nomination this important. And I wanna say that this committee has acted properly and the Chairman has bent over backwards To do investigations from this committee and to delay this vote in this committee for a week so that judge or that Doctor Ford can be heard And she was yesterday. So that's, with that agreement, I will vote to advance the bill to the floor. Senator Klobuchar Mr. Chairman, there are other senators as well who may be interested in this negotiation on the republican side. And there's not really a set agreement here, all of us had already said we were voting no. It is simply Senator Flake Working with all of us to say for the good of this senate and the good of the court, the American people deserve to have the facts followed upon. And I really appreciate his willingness to do that. And that what this is about. This is simply about and by the way if Senator Makanow wants to go forward In line of that and we still have several senators that having said how they're voting on this nominee, I actually think this is very important what just happened right now. 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