Senate votes aligning to confirm Kavanaugh
Allegations fail to top qualifications for spot on Supreme Court.
Judge Brett KavaWASHINGTON — naugh appeared destined for final confirmation to the Supreme Court after two key undecided senators
Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe —
Manchin III, D-W.Va. announced
—
Friday that they would support his elevation to the high court after the most divisive confirmation fight in decades.
Collins’ lengthy speech on the Senate floor dwelled as much on Kavanaugh’s judicial record as on the sexual misconduct charges that have consumed his nomination.
She did conclude, “We will be ill-served in the long run if we abandon the presumption of innocence.”
“The Me Too movement is real. It matters. It is needed and it is long overdue,” she said, arguing that her support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation does not negate the claims of sexual assault that have flooded forward in the wake of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against the nominee. But she said she was not convinced of Kavanaugh’s guilt.
“I found her testimony to be sincere, painful and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life. Nevertheless, the four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events,” Collins said.
Manchin immediately followed with a statement proclaiming his support.
“I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearing,” he wrote. “And my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced any type of sexual assault in their life. However, based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist.”
With the Senate and the nation bitterly divided, Kavanaugh’s future came to rest with four undecided senators: three Republicans — Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Collins — and one Democrat, Manchin. But one by one, they let their positions be known.
Flake said Friday that he would vote for Kavanaugh “unless something big changes.” Murkowski broke with her party in voting to block his confirmation, and later delivered an emotional impromptu speech explaining why she had voted against ending debate.
“I believe we’re dealing with issues right now that are bigger than the nominee and how we ensure fairness and how our legislative and judicial branch can continue to be respected,” she said, choosing her words carefully, her voice filled with emotion.
“This is what I have been wrestling with, and so I made the — took the very difficult vote that I did,” she said. “I believe Brett Kavanaugh’s a good man. It just may be that in my view he’s not the right man for the court at this time.”
For Kavanaugh, and the country, the stakes are huge: If confirmed, President Donald Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee will replace the high court’s swing vote — as cast by retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy — with a committed conservative, shifting the ideological balance on the court toward the right for generations.
The last time a justice was confirmed by a single vote was in 1881, when Stanley Matthews was confirmed 24-23.
Trump was triumphant on Twitter. “Very proud of the U.S. Senate for voting ‘YES’ to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!” he wrote.
Friday’s vote ushers in 30 hours of debate before the Senate takes its final vote on Kavanaugh. It came as senators were still absorbing the results of a confidential FBI inquiry into allegations of sexual assault against the judge — claims that have torn apart the Senate and divided the nation.
In divergent and often bitter remarks before the Friday morning vote, senior senators delivered closing arguments that demonstrated how deeply the nomination has split the Senate.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Judiciary Committee chairman, accused Democrats of waging a scorchedearth campaign to destroy Kavanaugh — “the most qualified nominee in our nation’s history” — before he could be confirmed.
He said that the burden of proof for the nominee’s accusers had not been met and that an ample investigation had found no evidence to corroborate their claims.
“We had a campaign of distraction from his outstanding qualifications, a campaign of destruction of this individual,” Grassley said. “What we have learned is the resistance that has existed since the day after the November 2016 election is centered right here on Capitol Hill. They have encouraged mob rule.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, mocked Democrats and warned that a vote against Kavanaugh based on uncorroborated accusations would dangerously erode “the ideals of justice that have served our nation so well for so long.”
And Trump urged on the Senate, saying the protesters were “screamers” and “professionals” paid by financier George Soros, a well-worn trope of the far right.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Kavanaugh had disqualified himself many times over because of his views on presidential power, gun rights and abortion rights. She chastised Republicans for an incomplete investigation of the sexual misconduct claims against him and said Kavanaugh’s emotional defense at a public hearing last week demonstrated a temperament unfit for the office.
“Based on all the factors we have before us, I do not believe Judge Kavanaugh has earned this seat,” she said.
Democrats and Republicans appeared to agree, at least superficially, on one thing: The behavior of senators has been unbecoming.
“When future Americans look back at these proceedings, let them draw no lessons from the Senate’s conduct here,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader.