The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Friday morning 11-10 to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. All Republicans voted for Kavanaugh and all Democrats voted against.
A procedural vote will be taken by the full Senate on Saturday afternoon. A final and full Senate confirmation vote has been scheduled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for Tuesday, October 2.
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced Friday morning he will vote for Kavanaugh, solidifying his ability to make it past Committee. Friday afternoon, he called for a one week delay of the full Senate vote for an FBI investigation. He also said he is not comfortable supporting a full vote of Kavanaugh until the investigation is complete.
.@JeffFlake: “I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to but not more than one week, in order to let the FBI do an investigation, limited in time and scope to the current allegations that are there.” https://t.co/FVPyEJhAJf pic.twitter.com/GZbxe2MPWb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 28, 2018
It is still uncertain whether Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) or Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will vote in favor of Kavanaugh's nomination. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will make the decision about whether the final vote will be delayed.
During an interview with Fox and Friends, Senator Majority Whip John Cornyn says he is confident Kavanaugh will not only be confirmed, but confirmed with help from Democrats.
"I'm optimistic. We've been in constant communication with all of my colleagues...I'm optimistic we'll confirm the judge," Cornyn said. "I'm hopeful that Senator Donnelly, Senator Manchin, Senator Heitkamp, all of whom voted for Neil Gorsuch, will see their way to vote for this nominee. I'm optimistic we'll have a bipartisan vote."
Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) announced earlier he will vote against Kavanaugh.
Read Joe's statement on the Kavanaugh nomination: pic.twitter.com/JvjTOKEDyF
— Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) September 28, 2018
This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member