Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) will vote ‘yes’ on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Senator announced Friday, October 5.
During a 43-minute speech, Collins decried the Supreme Court confirmation process for being hyper-partisan while also casting doubts on the claims of sexual assault that have been levied against Kavanaugh in recent weeks.
Collins pointed to Kavanaugh’s judicial record to suggest that he would not vote to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, as opponents on the left have feared, and even suggested that he is likely to uphold Roe v. Wade, the judicial precedent that legalizes abortion.
The U.S. Senate voted Friday morning to advance Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination process to the next, and final step. A vote on his nomination is expected to occur within the next 30 hours based on Senate rules.
Three of the four key swing votes went in Kavanaugh’s favor with Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Joseph Manchin (D-WV) and Collins voting yes. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted no.
Following Collins’ announcement, Manchin also said that he would vote ‘yes’ on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Kavanaugh’s nomination moved forward with a 51-49 vote. Republicans hold a 51 to 49 seat advantage in the Senate, giving Kavanaugh a slight edge.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation has been slowed down in recent weeks by allegations of sexual assault from multiple women.
Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault when she was 15 and Kavanaugh was 17 in 1982. Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, leading the committee to delay the vote in order to allow for an FBI investigation into the accusations.
The FBI concluded its investigation earlier this week. Senate Democrats criticized the investigation, saying that the scope of the inquiry was too narrow.
