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[–] 14139858? 0 points 10 points (+10|-0) ago 

I think this was about getting a quorum. You need 7 members to discuss business. you need 9 members (including 2 from the minority party) to conduct business. To pass a bill or nomination out of the committee, you need a majority of the members. 21/2 = 10.5, so 11 members, two of which must be from the minority party. The threatened Democrat walkout would have prevented transacting committee business whether or not it was a nomination. The judiciary committee can't impose more FBI investigations on the Senate as a whole or make passing the nomination out contingent on more FBI investigations. Flake's promise seemed like a gambit to get the quorum, but not actually be an enforceable promise. it depends on whether Flake is a deciding vote on the Senate floor.