The Senate passed its motion to vote on cloture, setting up a weekend vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
The Senate voted to pass its motion to cloture on Friday morning, with a vote tally of 51-49, featuring overwhelming Republican support.
Now that the Senate has passed its cloture motion, the final vote on confirmation will occur sometime on Saturday.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who is one of the vital swing Republicans on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, said that she will vote yes on the motion to pass cloture and that she will reveal her vote whether to confirm Kavanaugh later Friday afternoon. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), another key vote, voted yes on the motion to cloture. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted no on the motion to cloture.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a vulnerable Senate Democrat, voted yes on the motion to cloture and might signal that he might vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Other vulnerable Senate Democrats such as Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Bill Nelson (D-FL), were once thought to be potential votes to confirm Kavanaugh, but over the last couple of weeks, they said that they will vote against Kavanaugh.
On the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that “nothing could get Democrats to consider this nominee with an open mind.”
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that she opposes Kavanaugh because of his temperament. She said that Kavanaugh was a “man filled with anger and aggression” at last week’s Senate hearing.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that “We can salvage some decency here at the end,” by rejecting Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said that the Supreme Court confirmation process “should have been a respectable and dignified confirmation process.”
President Donald Trump announced on Twitter he was “very proud” of the Senate’s cloture vote.