Oct. 5 (UPI) — By a razor-thin margin, the Senate voted Friday to move forward with the final vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The Senate voted down party lines, 51-49.
The procedural vote officially ends the raucous debate on the nomination and sets up the final vote, which could happen as soon as Saturday — or as late as Tuesday, with Congress off for Columbus Day.
The vote follows a whirlwind Thursday, in which the full Senate had the opportunity to review the FBI’s investigative report into accusations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh from two women during their high school and college years. The conclusions in the report, which was not made public, did not provide concrete proof of wrongdoing.
Republicans said the report shows Kavanaugh’s nomination should proceed and Democrats said it was too limited in scope and should be made public.
Republicans could only afford to lose one vote among their ranks if all Democrats voted against the nomination. Complicating matters is the fact that Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, will be at his daughter’s wedding Saturday so he could miss the vote or force Republicans to delay it.
In an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Kavanaugh again defended himself against the accusations.
“My time in high school and college, more than 30 years ago, has been ridiculously distorted,” Kavanaugh said. “My wife and daughters have faced vile and violent threats.”
He also acknowledged that he was “very emotional … more so than I have ever been” when he testified before the Senate judiciary committee last week.
“I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said,” Kavanaugh said. “I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my wife and most of all my daughters.”
If appointed to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh said he would continue to be the same even-keeled, open-minded and independent judge he’s been for his 28-year legal career.
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday that Kavanaugh is not qualified to sit on the high court because of prejudices revealed during his Senate testimony. Stevens, 98, who retired from the court in 2010, initially supported Kavanaugh.
“They suggest that he has demonstrated a potential bias involving enough potential litigants before the court that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities,” Stevens told a group of retirees in Boca Raton, Fla., The Palm Beach Post reported. “I’ve changed my views for reasons that have really no relationship to his intellectual ability or his record as a federal judge. But I think that his performance during the hearings caused me to change my mind.”
Stevens recalled the similar controversy surrounding then-nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991, saying Thomas didn’t do anything to disqualify himself during Senate hearings. Thomas was ultimately confirmed, and he and Stevens often disagreed in their opinions.
“You cannot help but like Clarence Thomas, which I don’t think necessarily would be true of this particular nominee,” Stevens said.
Kavanaugh’s controversial nomination has drawn hundreds of protesters to Capitol Hill — more than 300 of whom were arrested Thursday.
We were planning to shut down the Capitol Building but the authorities were so scared of this #WomensWave that they shut it down for us.1000+ women, survivors, and allies have gathered in the Hart Senate Building.Every hallway. Every floor.#CancelKanavaugh #BelieveSurvivors pic.twitter.com/rIwjBht6e7- Women’s March (@womensmarch) October 4, 2018
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