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On Friday afternoon, Coons and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) withdrew to an anteroom, delaying the Senate Judiciary Committee's scheduled vote on whether to send Kavanaugh's nomination to the Senate floor. Earlier, Coons had reportedly choked up when he was told by a CNN reporter that Flake planned to vote yes on Kavanaugh's nomination. But at some point Flake decided to make what amounted to a compromise. He would back Kavanaugh's nomination for a full Senate vote but withhold his support in a floor vote unless the FBI was allowed to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by the nominee.

That decision, a concession to the repeated requests made by Democrats, brought Coons nearly to tears. The senator rewarded Flake's nod to bipartisanship -- and due process -- with effusive praise and was unafraid to give the Republican senator credit for taking a stand. What followed was one of the more stirring expressions of cooperation during a week in which Washington's rank and well-publicized partisanship shocked even the city's most jaded observers.

"Let me simply say this. Senator Flake is a genuine conservative," Coons told reporters. "He and I do not share a lot of political views, but we share a deep concern."

He then paused, appearing to choke up, and said "Sorry," before continuing.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons' kind gesture for a friend on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is drawing accolades from Republicans and even left one fighting back tears.

The Delaware senator on Monday changed his committee vote from "no" to "present" on CIA Director Mike Pompeo's nomination for secretary of State, allowing the nomination to advance to the full Senate for consideration -- even though Coons opposes him.

The move didn't change the final outcome of the vote. But it spared Coons' friend, Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, from having to rush back from a close friend's funeral services in Atlanta and other senators from having to wait until at least 11 p.m. for his return.

For Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. -- who had been complaining before the vote about partisanship on the panel -- Coons' gesture clearly came as a welcome break from the tension on Capitol Hill.

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