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By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman and Eli Okun

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THERE ARE A LOT OF REPUBLICANS who are already hoping that the White House will pull BRETT KAVANAUGH'S Supreme Court nomination -- "today," as one put it to us. "Total disaster," as another senior Republican told us. Factions in and around the White House -- Trump allies -- are getting concerned. As we said this morning: It's hard to see what Kavanaugh can do to change the strikingly difficult political dynamics. He has already said, without a doubt, that he did not do anything -- that has left him no wiggle room. We've not spoken to a single Republican so far who thinks this is going well for them. Most think it's an abject disaster.

-- ROSS DOUTHAT (@DouthatNYT): "Current Republican line of questioning seems mostly intended to exonerate their approach to the process, not to help Kavanaugh."

"100 PERCENT" CERTAIN ... CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD said she was sure that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her as a teenager in the Washington suburbs. She said it was "absolutely not" an instance of mistaken identity.

KEY MOMENTS ...

-- THE LAUGHING ... Asked by SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-VT.) what she remembered most distinctly, Ford said, "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter, between the two, and their having fun at my expense." Later, she told SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MINN.) that she clearly recalled specific elements of the house, as well as "the multiple attempts to escape and the final ability to do so."

-- She said she knew it was Kavanaugh by the same neural mechanisms that allowed her to recognize SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CALIF.) sitting in front of her.

-- SHE WANTED TO WARN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ... In her opening remarks, Ford emphasized that she came forward with her accusations before Kavanaugh was she nominated, hoping to send the message to the White House and get them to select someone else from the short list.

-- THE MEDIA ... Ford said she felt she had to go public this month, after initially remaining private in correspondence with Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Feinstein and a Washington Post reporter, once "reporters were sitting outside of my home ... and a reporter appeared in my graduate classroom."

-- THE IMPACTS ... Ford said she struggled with academic problems, including "a fairly disastrous first two years of undergraduate studies," and forming friendships with boys in the years after the alleged incident with Kavanaugh.

PROSECUTOR RACHEL MITCHELL pressed Ford on specifics of dates, map distances, therapist notes and her recollections of the alleged assault. She asked Ford repeatedly about her history and fear of flying. Most Republicans deferred all their time to Mitchell.

SENATE JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IOWA) and ranking member Feinstein opened the hearing by each blasting the other side. Grassley came out swinging against Democrats' actions. "If they're really concerned with going to the truth, why wouldn't you want to talk to the accused?" he asked. Grassley interjected later to repeat that the committee would have had more time to investigate Ford's claims had it known about them this summer.

GRASSLEY SAID OTHER ACCUSERS' representation had stonewalled the committee: "We've not had cooperation from attorneys representing other clients, and they have made no attempt to substantiate their claims."

FEINSTEIN AND OTHER Democratic senators, especially former prosecutor SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.), blasted the GOP for not delaying the confirmation proceedings, rejecting an FBI investigation and not subpoenaing Mark Judge. Grassley aggressively defended the committee's actions.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CONN.) said of PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, "His failure to ask for an FBI investigation, in my view, is tantamount to a cover-up."

THE POLITICO LEDEALL -- "Ford '100 percent' certain Kavanaugh assaulted her," by Elana Schor and Burgess Everett: POLITICO ... Key moments from Nolan McCaskill and Rebecca Morin

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JESUS RODRIGUEZ: "Three GOP governors call for delaying Kavanaugh vote"

CNN'S JAKE TAPPER (@jaketapper): ".@kaitlancollins reports @realDonaldTrump & @VP both phoned Kavanaugh to voice support for him ahead of hearing. Trump's message when they spoke, per source: be aggressive and forceful in your denials. Don't be afraid to push back on these allegations, Trump said."

WAPO'S GREG SARGENT: "Mark Judge's former girlfriend is ready to talk to FBI and Judiciary Committee, her lawyer says"

Good Thursday afternoon. YIKES -- "Voting Machine Used in Half of U.S. Is Vulnerable to Attack, Report Finds," by WSJ's Robert McMillan and Dustin Volz: "The issue was found in the widely used Model 650 high-speed ballot-counting machine made by Election Systems & Software LLC, the nation's leading manufacturer of election equipment. ... The Def Con report is the latest warning from researchers, academics and government officials who say election systems in the U.S. are at risk to tampering." WSJ

THE INVESTIGATIONS -- KYLE CHENEY, "Democrats prepare to force vote on Mueller protection bill": "The proposal would force Republicans to decide whether to consider the Mueller-protection proposal or sideline it. For Democrats, the effort is a chance to force Republicans on the record on an issue that has generated some bipartisan support in the House and Senate. ...

"Republicans, though, have shown little urgency to support the measure, even as most have expressed support for Mueller being allowed to complete his work." POLITICO

HEADLINE OF THE DAY -- "Trump versus the killer asteroids," by Bryan Bender: "The Trump administration wants to make Earth great again by spending more than $100 million to help protect the planet from cataclysmic asteroids. Unless classic Capitol Hill gridlock gets in the way.

"The administration is seeking the money to develop defenses against thousands of potentially lethal space rocks ... But while [the] planetary threat is real, the money to deal with it is caught up in Congress' latest spending delays." POLITICO

KNOWING SHAHIRA KNIGHT -- "The Pit Bull Lover Fighting Trump's Battles on Capitol Hill," by Ozy's Matt Laslo: "The 47-year-old is used to being a part of intense, even frantic, negotiations from her Capitol Hill days. And she's learned the president's policy whims since arriving at the Trump White House at the dawn of the administration. ... But in reporting this story, I spoke to several top appropriators who said Knight wasn't actively engaged in the government funding negotiations, which included Senate Appropriations chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., telling me he's never once spoken to her. ...

"The work keeps her up until 1 or 2 a.m., but she's still able to relax with an occasional glass of wine at night, a round of golf as often as possible and by helping rescue pit bulls. ... And she's playing the long game on issues like funding the wall on the Mexican border." Ozy

WASHINGTONIAN'S LUKE MULLINS: "The Making of Rod Rosenstein": "[T]here may be no better prism for understanding the man charged with shielding Mueller from Trump than the most spectacular case from his prior job: the Black Guerrilla Family prosecution. While it ultimately resulted in success, with 40 convictions, it was also complicated by politics and bureaucratic interference.

"In fact, the investigation was nearly derailed until Rosenstein stepped in. According to those involved, he protected law enforcement and provided his team with the backing they needed to get to the truth." Washingtonian

-- AP'S ZEKE MILLER (@ZekeJMiller): ".@PressSec: 'The President spoke with Rod Rosenstein a few minutes ago and they plan to meet next week. They do not want to do anything to interfere with the hearing.'"

2020 WATCH ... A NEW NEIGHBOR IN ROSSLYN? -- "Trump eyes Northern Virginia for 2020 reelection campaign headquarters," by WaPo's Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker: WaPo

AT 1600 PENN -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Kevin Hassett and Larry Kudlow are hosting an Economic Summit with several CEOs at the White House today. The event included two panels and a fireside chat on taxes, regulation and the economy. The CEOs include Barb Moran Goodrich of Moran Family of Brands, Steve Hockett of Great Clips, Jeff Huber of Home Instead Senior Care, Mark Liston of Glass Doctor and Jerry Crawford of JANI-KING.

MEDIAWATCH -- FROM MORNING MEDIA: "Allison Hoffman, most recently a national editor at POLITICO, is joining CNN as a senior editor overseeing policy coverage around the economy, business, fiscal policy and deficits."

SPOTTED at a Washington Life party last night at the French ambassador's residence: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Hilary Ross, Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Marie Royce, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Charles Rivkin and Susan Tolson, Susan Blumenthal, Jack Evans, Juleanna Glover, Francesca Craig, Ann and Lloyd Hand, William Webster and Lynda Webster, Kevin Chaffee, Virginia Coyne, Nancy Bagley, Soroush Shehabi, John Arundel, Natalie Jones, Howard Fineman, Chris Liddell and Renee Harbers Liddell, Melissa Moss, Ambassador of Monaco Maggie Maccario Doyle, Margaret Carlson, Roxanne Roberts, Walt Cronkite, Elbridge Colby, Chris Isham and Jay Newton-Small.

SPOTTED: Ernie Moniz co-hosting a fundraiser for Florida congressional candidate Bob Rackleff at Lavagna DC last night. Pic

TRANSITION -- Lisa Monaco will serve as an adviser to Lyft. She was a top Obama administration homeland security and counterterrorism adviser. She is currently at New York University Law School.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Ted Greener, director of public affairs for the Association of American Railroads and a DCI Group and Ogilvy alum, and Elizabeth Greener, director of communications at the American Forest Foundation, welcomed Claire Marie Greener. She joins big sister Hannah Leigh. Instapics

-- ROMNEY ALUMNI -- Josh Baca, managing director at Marathon Strategies and a DDC Public Affairs and Romney 2012 alum, and Jen Corey Baca, director of business development at AtlanticLIVE, on Monday welcomed Vienna Grace Baca. Pic


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