Iran Press- America/ The chamber voted 51 to 49 to advance the nomination after Republican leaders secured the votes of two GOP senators and one Democrat who had not publicly announced their intentions before arriving to vote. A final confirmation vote could come Saturday.
The last of the undecided votes began falling into place after the senators reviewed a highly anticipated report from the FBI investigating allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, Reuters reported.
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Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Susan Collins (Maine), two of the Republican holdouts, voted to advance President Trump’s nominee, while Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) was the only GOP senator to break with her party.
Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), a red-state Democrat up for reelection next month, was the only Democrat to support Kavanaugh.
The vote Friday significantly bolsters Kavanaugh’s prospects, but some votes could change. Collins, considered a key swing vote, said that she would vote to advance the nomination but wait until later Friday to say how will vote on confirmation.
“I will be voting yes on proceeding to the final confirmation vote, and I will announce my intentions on how to vote later today,” Collins told reporters.
Confirmation would hand Trump a clear victory and tip the balance on the court to a 5-4 majority in favor of conservatives in possible legal battles ahead over contentious issues such as abortion rights, immigration, and Trump’s attempt to ban transgender people from the U.S. military.
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