Kavanaugh gets to 50
Republicans Collins and Flake, Democrat Manchin declare support for nominee, assuring confirmation
WASHINGTON — Confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appeared virtually certain Friday after two undeclared senators announced their intent to support the controversial nomination, ending an acrimonious battle that has deepened political and gender divisions in the country.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia proclaimed their support for Kavanaugh, giving him at least 50 yes votes, enough to elevate the conservative jurist to the nation’s highest court on Saturday.
“I will vote to confirm,” Collins said from the Senate floor. Not long after, Manchin released a statement saying he too would vote for Kavanaugh.
A third senator, Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona, who had appeared to waver after announcing his support last week, also said he will vote to confirm Kavanaugh “unless something big changes.” By waiting until the final hours to announce her position, Collins
KAVANAUGH ▶ Page 4A
WASHINGTON Excerpts of the remarks of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-maine, are as follows:
Mr. President, the five previous times that I have come to the floor to explain my vote on the nomination of a justice to the United States Supreme Court, I have begun my floor remarks explaining my decision with a recognition of the solemn nature and the importance of the occasion.
But today we have come to the conclusion of a confirmation process that has become so dysfunctional it looks more See SPEECH 9A
added to the drama that has captivated the nation during two weeks of high-stakes legislative maneuvering. Her 44-minute address offered a contrast to the emotionally charged politics surrounding a nomination that could define her, her party and the Supreme Court for a generation.
In her floor speech, Collins decried the ugly partisan confirmation process that has hit “rock bottom” after 30 years of decline. She said her belief in the presumption of innocence and fairness were principles she could not abandon.
“We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed, that fairness is most in jeopardy,” Collins said.
She said allegations of sexual assault leveled against Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford failed to meet a “more likely than not” standard.
“Therefore, I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent
Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the court,” Collins said.
In his statement released announcing his support, Manchin said, “I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution.”
Vote to advance nomination
Earlier Friday, a deeply divided Senate voted mostly along party lines to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination toward a final vote.
The Senate voted 51-49 to advance the nomination, with most Republicans and Democrats voting en bloc.
A final vote on the confirmation is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. With a yes vote from Manchin on Saturday, a Kavanaugh confirmation could boast bipartisan support.
Nevada senators Dean Heller, a Republican, and Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, voted with their respective party leaders.
Heller and Cortez Masto had announced their positions before sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh roiled the confirmation process. Both senators said Thursday that an FBI report into the allegations did not change their minds.
Heller is in a re-election battle against Democratic challenger Rep. Jacky Rosen, who said she would have voted against confirming Kavanaugh if she was in the Senate.
All eyes Friday were on four moderate lawmakers who were seen as the swing votes on the Supreme Court nominee: Republicans Collins, Flake and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Manchin, a Democrat seeking re-election in deeply red West Virginia.
Murkowski voted not to advance the nomination while Manchin joined Flake and Collins in voting yes.
Later Friday, Murkowski said she opposes Kavanaugh but will ask to be recorded as “present” during Saturday’s confirmation vote to accommodate another GOP senator, Steve Daines of Montana, who will be at his daughter’s wedding.
Senators often partner like that to allow an absence without affecting the outcome.
Flake, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had announced his support of Kavanaugh last week, but then sought a one-week delay of the vote to allow for an expanded FBI background check into the allegations of sexual misconduct from nearly three decades ago.
Ford, Kavanaugh testimony
During a Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Ford said under oath that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a house party in the Maryland suburbs of Washington when they were teenagers in 1982.
Deborah Ramirez, a Yale University classmate, also claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a dorm party. She did not testify, but was interviewed by the FBI.
Kavanaugh adamantly denied the accusations in the hearing and belligerently admonished Democrats on the committee for orchestrating a “political hit” on him with a smear campaign designed to scuttle his nomination.
Democrats accused Republicans of ramming through the nomination and criticized the White House for narrowing the scope of the FBI investigation by limiting the number of people who could be interviewed to substantiate the claims.
Some Republicans said the report all but exonerated Kavanaugh and charged that the Democrats had used character assassination as part of a political strategy to stop the confirmation.
The contentious nomination was politically charged when it was announced by President Donald Trump in July. Kavanaugh was one of many candidates vetted by the anti-abortion Federalist Society.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation would add another conservative jurist to the Supreme Court and could tip the ideological balance of the bench. He would replace the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was a swing vote on issues including abortion, campaign finance and same-sex marriage.
#Metoo movement
The nomination process was almost derailed by the #Metoo movement when the accusations of sexual misconduct became public.
Thousands of protesters swarmed Capitol Hill on Friday to demonstrate against Kavanaugh and in support of Ford, a Palo Alto University research psychologist whose testimony rekindled memories of other women who suffered sexual abuse or harassment.
As Collins spoke in the Senate chamber, protesters in the gallery shouted “Show up for Maine women — vote no.” They were escorted from the gallery by the sergeant at arms.
In a Senate hallway, Manchin was heckled by protesters as he spoke to reporters: “Shame, shame, shame.”
More than 300 people were arrested Thursday for demonstrations in Senate office buildings after a mass protest moved from the federal courthouse, where Kavanaugh is seated as an appellate court judge, to the Supreme Court steps and Capitol Hill.
Survivors of sexual assault spoke to the gathering from the steps of the high court as senators reviewed the FBI report in a secured room just a stone’s throw away.
As the protesters raged, Republicans moved to blunt another potential challenge to the nomination. Kavanaugh’s last appearance before the committee and his angry denouncement of his treatment by Democrats left some questioning his temperament to serve on the Supreme Court.
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, appointed by President Gerald Ford, told the Palm Beach Post in Florida that Kavanaugh’s angry outburst had changed his mind about his ability to serve on the high court.
Kavanaugh, who is being guided through the confirmation process by White House aides, wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that he regretted his sharp tone and angry statements before the committee and said that if confirmed he would be an “impartial” justice.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.