Photo courtesy of The Hill
Friday morning in Washington U.S. Senators voted to end debate on Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and advance him to the final vote. The cloture vote got through by the skin of it’s teeth with 51 yes, and 49 no.
BREAKING: Bitterly divided Senate pushes Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh past procedural hurdle, final weekend vote likely.
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 5, 2018
If the vote had been a tie, it would have been up to Vice President Mike Pence to break the tie with his vote.
@SenHydeSmith and @SenatorWicker vote to advance @realDonaldTrump’s nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, to a final vote expected over the weekend.
— Mississippi GOP (@MSGOP) October 5, 2018
Both Wicker and Hyde-Smith have been strong supporters of the confirmation of Kavanaugh.
“This procedural vote was easy for me. The excellent impression Judge Kavanaugh made when we met only grew stronger after I reviewed his record, and followed a confirmation process that can only be described as unnecessarily ugly. The FBI’s supplemental background investigation only reaffirmed my earlier judgment that Brett Kavanaugh is imminently qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. I look forward to his confirmation,” said Hyde-Smith.“The anger around the nation is understandable but could have been avoided. Senate Democrats could have followed procedure rather than raw politics. Decisions made by the Democratic minority have instead resulted in a disservice to victims of sexual violence, to Judge Kavanaugh, and the American people.”
Kavanaugh’s nomination by President Trump came under fire after accusations were made against him by a woman, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in high school.
After a hearing in which Ford and Kavanaugh answered questions on the matter and a seventh investigation into Kavanaugh by the FBI, the Bureau concluded there was no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez (a supposed eyewitness).
There is still no guarantee that the confirmation of Kavanaugh will pass in the final vote this weekend.
Sarah Ulmer
