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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Sam Levin, Amanda Holpuch and Paul Owen (earlier)

Susan Collins says she will vote yes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh – as it happened

Susan Collins spoke for more than 40 minutes before confirming she would vote yes.
Susan Collins spoke for more than 40 minutes before confirming she would vote yes. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Summary

We’re ending our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. Here’s a recap of what happened:

Here’s some useful historical context on how Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote will compare to past supreme court votes:

It is on track to be one of the closest supreme court confirmation votes in history:

Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, is facing backlash for comments about why the Republicans on the panel are all male:

According to the Wall Street Journal, said:

It’s a lot of work – maybe they don’t want to do it. My chief of staff of 33 years tells me we’ve tried to recruit women and we couldn’t get the job done.”

He apparently returned later to clarify his remarks, saying, “We have a hard time getting men on the committee. It’s just a lot of work whether you’re a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter.”

Grassley has also said he is still going to be investigating Dr Ford’s allegations:

With Kavanaugh on track to be confirmed, some are asking whether impeachment could follow. The Washington Post published a helpful analysis of this question earlier:

In short, the impeachment process is a possibility if the Democrats regain control of the House. Some Democrats and other critics have accused Kavanaugh of repeatedly lying under oath, which could potentially be the basis for impeachment.

If the Democrats took control, it’s possible that the House Judiciary Committee would launch an investigation of Kavanaugh and draft articles of impeachment, the Post noted. The likely Democratic chair of this committee has said he would support this effort.

Sarah Palin has also hinted that she would consider running against Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican to vote against advancing Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Murkowski is up for re-election in 2022. Palin, the former governor of Alaska and a GOP candidate for vice president in 2008, has been advocating for Kavanaugh on social media.

Susan Rice, former United Nations ambassador and national security adviser to President Obama, has suggested she may consider running against Susan Collins:

The single-word tweet came less than an hour after Collins announced she would be voting for Kavanaugh, effectively securing the confirmation. The family of Rice’s mother is from Maine, and she has apparently spent time there during summers.

Rice is not the only one expressing interest in Collins’ seat:

A crowdfunding campaign for Susan Collins’ opponent has now raised over $2m. The donations came pouring in as the Republican senator, a key undecided vote, gave a lengthy speech this afternoon announcing her decision to vote for Kavanaugh.

It appeared that there has been so much web traffic to the donation site that the page has temporarily crashed.

Kavanaugh has votes to be confirmed

With Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Susan Collins both declaring their intention to vote for Kavanaugh, it appears the judge is on track to have the votes he needs to be confirmed. After a procedural vote advanced the nomination earlier in the day, the final vote is expected on Saturday.

The confirmation was already set to be finalized with Collins’ vote, which would likely have put vice president Mike Pence in a position to break a tie. Now, it appears all but certain that Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Another dramatic protest is unfolding around senator Joe Manchin, the Democrat who has announced he is voting to confirm Kavanaugh. People are chanting “Look at us! Look at us!” and “Shame!” as he speaks to reporters.

Asked about whether he believed the FBI investigation was adequate, he said:

There’s always more that could’ve been done ... I looked at what was in front of me, and I had to make a decision.”

Joe Manchin to vote yes

Sam Levin here, continuing our live coverage of Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight.

Democratic senator Joe Manchin, considered the last “undecided” senator, has just announced that he is voting to confirm Kavanaugh. He said in a statement:

I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearing. However, based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him.”

The announcement came shortly after Republican senator Susan Collins also said she would be voting to confirm in a lengthy speech.

Collins says she will vote to confirm Kavanaugh

After lengthy remarks in defense of his nomination, Collins confirms she’ll vote along party lines.

Collins is 40 minutes into her remarks.

She is taking to task whoever leaked Christine Blasey Ford’s letter, but says she does not believe that person is senator Dianne Fienstein, whose office received the letter.

Now she is talking about algorithms and how they help people read articles that confirm their biases.

“The allegations fail to meet the more-likely-than-not standard,” Collins says.

“I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent judge Kavanaugh from serving on the supreme court.”

Collins says every person who makes a claim of sexual assault deserves to be heard. “The MeToo movement is real,” she says, with emphasis.

She says since the hearing she has listened to many survivors of sexual assault.

Collins is addressing Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh.

She said the “presumption of innocence” and due process weigh on her thinking.

“We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy,” she says.

She says some of the allegations against Kavanaugh “illustrate why the presumption of innocence” is so important, specifically an allegation that Kavanaugh committee gang rape. He denies the allegation.

Collins says Ford’s testimony was “sincere, painful and compelling.”

And she believes Ford is a victim of sexual assault.

But Collins has questions about Ford’s story and the witness testimonies.

Now onto Roe v Wade - Collins says it is important to keep in place this pivotal 1973 supreme court ruling to legalize abortion.

She explains all the reasons she thinks Kavanaugh is not a threat to Roe v Wade - an interesting argument from a Republican.

She says Republicans have been saying their supreme court nominee would end Roe v Wade for decades and it hasn’t happened yet.

Meanwhile ...

Collins says she has spoken to Kavanaugh privately for several hours.

She also said she has met with thousands of her constituents, who she said spoke extensively about fears Kavanaugh would gut the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. She says she’s not worried about that.

She said another concern people have brought her is that Kavanaugh would give protection to a president facing charges because of his previous writings on executive power.

Collins hasn’t said how she is voting, but the early guess is she’ll be a yes for Kavanaugh.

She has yet to address the sexual assault allegations, but it doesn’t sound like she’s ending her remarks anytime soon.

Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, says the confirmation process has become dysfunctional and chaotic instead of the solemn occasion it should be.

She accuses special interest groups of spending “an unprecedented amount of dark money opposing this confirmation.”

She says the supreme court confirmation process has “been in steady decline for more than 30 years,” but hopes the Kavanaugh nomination is “rock bottom.”

Collins sent a press alert confirming she would speak at 3:05pm.

It’s 3:08pm ... and she should be speaking momentarily.

Protestors, however, are shouting in the galleries.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders spoke to reporters briefly this afternoon, after the cloture vote.

Asked if the White House and Senate GOP leaders have the votes to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, she said: “I sure hope so.”

“I think that we should,” she added.

“He’s done more than any nominee in history in terms of amount of documents he’s turned over, hours of testimony, interviews.

“Look, the president supports his nominee and wants to see him get confirmed.”

When asked if the White House was worried about Kavanaugh supporters in the Senate changing their minds before the vote, Sanders said: “Honestly, I think a lot of Democrats should change their mind and do the right thing and [confirm] Judge Kavanaugh.”

White House officials hope the Senate votes on Saturday, Sanders said.

Updated

With the vote to confirm Kavanaugh looking so close, one senator’s daughter’s wedding has gained unusual prominence.

Senator Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, plans to attend his daughter’s wedding in his home state on Saturday – the expected voting day.

The Senate is divided 51-49 Republican to Democrat. If all Democrats vote no (not a certainty) and one Republican defects, there will be a tie decided by vice-president Mike Pence.

That slim margin also means there is not room for a Republican senator not to show up – even if it’s his daughter’s wedding.

Another complicating factor? There’s no direct commercial flights out of Montana to DC on Saturday, and with layovers the journey could take more than seven hours – not an ideal travel time for someone looking to attend a wedding and a historic Senate vote.

Daines, however, said Friday afternoon he’d sorted it out.

Gianforte is the congressman who assaulted Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs.

Updated

Collins poised to announce

Hello, we’re back. Protests are raging across Washington DC as activists try to push swing senators their way.

Everyone is watching for Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who has promised a speech at 3pm announcing whether or not she will be backing Kavanaugh.

In response to Donald Trump’s tweet alleging anti-Kavanaugh protestors were “paid professionals,” the Daily Beast’s Sam Stein has this observation from the halls of Congress.

(FreedomWorks is a national conservative group.)

Updated

Susan Collins to speak at 3pm ET

We’re taking a brief break ahead of a 3pm speech by Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine.

Collins voted yes for cloture but said she would hold her announcement on whether or not she supports Kavanaugh until making remarks on the Senate floor this afternoon.

We’ll be back around 2:15pm ET with the latest heading into the afternoon session.

Updated

Jeff Flake expected to vote yes on Kavanaugh

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake just told reporters that barring a big change, he will be a yes vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation tomorrow.

Flake and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski have now both confirmed that their cloture votes today – Flake yes, Murkowski no – will be their confirmation votes tomorrow.

That means Kavanaugh’s confirmation will come down to Susan Collins and Joe Manchin, who both voted yes for cloture this morning. Either one voting yes for confirmation will secure Kavanaugh’s place on the court. Collins is expected to announce her decision at 3pm Eastern Time.

Updated

Murkowski says Kavanaugh 'not the right man'

Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski told reporters moments ago that she did not make up her mind to vote no on cloture for Kavanaugh’s nomination until she was literally walking in to the chamber this morning.

“I believe Brett Kavanaugh is a good man,” she said. But he’s “not the right man for the court.”

Updated

Summary

It’s happening: tomorrow the Senate will hold its final confirmation vote for Brett Kavanaugh after voting on Friday to end debate on his supreme court nomination.

  • The Senate voted 51-49 on Friday morning to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to a final floor vote, but signaled their votes were not cast in stone.
  • In tomorrow’s vote, eyes will be on Republicans Jeff Flake, of Arizona; Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska and Susan Collins, of Maine. Flake and Collins voted yes for cloture but Flake has been hesitant to offer strong support for Kavanaugh. Collins said she will announce her position on the final vote this afternoon. Murkowski voted no, a big statement, but she could still ultimately endorse Kavanaugh.
  • On the Democrat side, the key vote will likely come down to Joe Manchin, a conservative up for re-election in West Virginia.
  • Donald Trump said he was “proud” of the Senate for advancing the vote. Hours earlier, he accused protestors of being “paid professionals,” without evidence.
  • Brett Kavanaugh took the unusual step on Thursday of taking the case for his confirmation to the US supreme court to the pages of the Wall Street Journal, admitting his Senate testimony “might have been too emotional” and insisting that he would be impartial if confirmed.
  • More than 300 protesters, including the comedian Amy Schumer, were arrested at the US Capitol in Washington as they made a final, desperate appeal to senators.

A yes today may be a no tomorrow. Or it might stay a yes.

One key senator, Joe Manchin, Democrat from West Virginia, declines to reveal his final position on Kavanaugh after voting yes on cloture. He also said he has a statement coming out soon.

The vote is over, but Republicans in the Senate still can’t rest easy.

Trump has a quick response to the vote.

It remains unclear if Donald Trump’s embattled pick for America’s highest court would ultimately have the votes to be confirmed, writes the Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui:

A handful of key senators tipped their hand in Friday’s procedural motion but signaled their votes were not cast in stone. Two of the chamber’s closely watched moderate Republicans, Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, voted in favor of advancing Kavanaugh, while Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the judge. Joe Manchin, a senator up for re-election in conservative West Virginia, was the lone Democrat to break with his party.

“This is one vote that we probably won’t know until the votes are actually cast,” Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

The uncertainty lingered one day after the FBI completed an investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh, the results of which fell firmly along party lines. Republicans swiftly declared that the FBI’s report, which was shrouded in secrecy and accessed only by senators and a select group of staffers, absolved Kavanaugh of any wrongdoing.

Democrats meanwhile condemned the investigation – the parameters of which were reportedly set by the White House – as preordained.

Senate votes to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to final vote

The Senate voted 51-49 in favor of the cloture motion, which will bring an end to debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the supreme court.

The final vote on his confirmation could happen as early as tomorrow.

Support for cloture is not equivalent to support for Kavanaugh, so it’s not clear whether or not he will make it through.

A key senator, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, said she will reveal her plan for the final vote in a speech at 3pm this afternoon.

Democrat Joe Manchin votes yes to advance Kavanaugh

Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, votes yes for cloture.

The rest of the key swing senators voted:

Flake – Yes

Murkowski – No

Collins – Yes, but is announcing plan for final confirmation vote at 3pm ET.

Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote yes.
Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote yes. Photograph: Mary F. Calvert/Reuters

Updated

Republican Lisa Murkowski votes no

Swing senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, has voted no on cloture.

Her vote is being read as a no for Kavanaugh as well, but it is too early to say.

Updated

Reminder: support for cloture is not equivalent to support for Kavanaugh.

A key senator, Susan Collins, a republican from Maine, said she will reveal her plan for the final vote in a speech at 3pm this afternoon after voting yes for cloture.

Another potential Republican no vote, Jeff Flake of Arizona, has voted in support of cloture.

Cloture vote begins

The procedural vote is under way to end debate on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

It requires a simple majority vote.

Updated

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell echoes Grassley’s comment that challenges to Kavanaugh are the work of “the resistance.”

He says the leak of Christine Blasey Ford’s letter accusing Kavanaugh of attempted rape “opened the floodgates.”

He dismisses complaints that the FBI report released yesterday was limited in scope.

Like Grassley, he references “the mob” for tarnishing the confirmation process.

Updated

Susan Collins to announce final Kavanaugh decision at 3pm ET

Twist! One of the key senators, Republican Susan Collins, is expected to vote yes on the cloture motion today – but that does not mean she will vote in support of Kavanaugh.

Some insiders suggest support for cloture, a procedural vote that would end debate about Kavanaugh, as equivalent to supporting Kavanaugh in the final Senate vote.

But that is a hasty conclusion to draw.

It sounds like we’ll learn whether Collins supports Kavanaugh or not on the senate floor at 3pm ET.

If cloture passes – the Republicans can afford only one defection if all Democrats oppose the pick – then a final vote on the nomination would be held over the weekend, likely on Saturday.

Susan Collins on Thursday.
Susan Collins on Thursday. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Updated

Sign up to the Guardian’s new US morning briefing. We’ll email you a summary of top stories and must-reads every weekday.

Now Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat ranking member, is voicing her opposition to Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

She begins by reviewing his judicial record, which she says shows he is “pro gun” and is a threat to Roe v Wade, the supreme court’s landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

She said “these views alone are not sufficient for me to vote against Judge Kavanaugh,” but the events of the last few weeks are why she won’t be supporting him.

She is focusing on Kavanaugh’s emotional testimony before the senate judiciary committee, which was partisan in an unprecedented way.

Grassley continues, he says he does not believe the accusations made against Kavanaugh.

“The multitude of allegations against him have proven to be false,” Grassley says.

He gets heated, saying “the resistance” has made it to the US capitol and is destroying civility in the US. He equates voting to confirm Kavanaugh as a vote against “mob rule.”

The vote this morning is to end debate on Kavanaugh. The Senate’s confirmation vote could happen as early as tomorrow.

Chuck Grassley attacked leftwingers and Democrats over Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Chuck Grassley attacked leftwingers and Democrats over Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Updated

Grassley in bizarre attack on 'leftwing, dark-money groups'

The senate is now in session.

Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, is speaking about Kavanaugh’s fitness for the job.

Grassley says Kavanaugh had an “impeccable reputation” before being targeted by the left.

“The conduct of leftwing, dark-money groups in this body has shamed us all,” Grassley says.

His remarks are focused on how Democrats do not want Kavanaugh to be confirmed.

Updated

One of the key senators to watch, Democrat Joe Manchin, has told reporters he is undecided and will stay that way until voting time (which is in about an hour).

Manchin is a conservative Democrat up for re-election in November in a state won by Trump in 2016 with a 42-point margin, and will be worried about losing votes if he rejects the president’s nominee.

Even if he and other swing senators vote “yes” in today’s cloture vote - a procedural one to end debate on the issue - one or more could conceivably then switch sides for a final vote tomorrow.

Trump – without evidence – attacks protesters for being 'paid professionals'

US president Donald Trump has accused protesters of not being sincere without providing evidence to back that claim.

The reference to “elevator screamers” is presumably about two women who said they were survivors of sexual assault and confronted Jeff Flake, the critical swing vote on the Senate judiciary committee, on his way to cast his vote last week to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Two women confront Jeff Flake

Updated

Protests this morning include a group of people drinking beer outside senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s house. They are chanting “chug, chug, chug.”

Last week, Kavanaugh mentioned beer repeatedly in his testimony before the US senate judiciary committee.

Republican senator to protesters: 'Grow up'

In another incident sure to symbolise the cultural gulf between the mostly elderly, male Republican senators pushing Kavanaugh’s nomination and the young, female protesters appalled by it, Orrin Hatch of Utah was recorded telling a group of mostly female demonstrators to “grow up” when they confronted him at the Senate.

“Don’t you wave your hand at me,” one of the protesters told the senator.

Hatch replied: “When you grow up, I’ll be glad to.”

Audibly furious, one of the demonstrators says: “How dare you talk to women that way?”

Yesterday more than 300 protesters – including comedian Amy Schumer and model Emily Ratajkowski – were arrested at the US Capitol after demonstrating against Kavanaugh.

Amy Schumer (left) and Emily Ratajkowski protesting on Thursday.
Amy Schumer (left) and Emily Ratajkowski protesting on Thursday. Photograph: Erik S. Lesser/EPA

Updated

“Look at the polls over the last three or four days,” Donald Trump told a rally in Minnesota, “and it shows [Democrats’] rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire at a level that nobody has ever seen before.”

The president was referring to polling that shows some improvement for Republicans heading into November’s midterm elections.

Liberals had hoped the controversy surrounding Kavanaugh would increase Democratic enthusiasm, help the party win the House, and perhaps even allow them to sneak a one-seat majority in the Senate.

In fact, it seems to be boosting Republicans as much as Democrats, according to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll.

NPR reports:

In July, there was a 10-point gap between the number of Democrats and Republicans saying the November elections were “very important.” Now, that is down to 2 points, a statistical tie.

Democrats’ advantage on which party’s candidate they are more likely to support has also been cut in half since last month. Democrats still retain a 6-point edge on that question, but it was 12 points after a Marist poll conducted in mid-September …

With Democrats already fired up for this election, the Kavanaugh confirmation fight has apparently had the effect of rousing a dormant GOP base.

One concrete example seems to be the Senate race in North Dakota, where Republican Kevin Cramer now seems to be about 9 points ahead of incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.

To Cramer’s evident delight, Heitkamp has said she will vote against Kavanaugh. “[The Kavanaugh hearings] proved to be perhaps the greatest political gift I’ve received in some time,” her opponent has said.

Heidi Heitkamp: in trouble.
Heidi Heitkamp: in trouble. Photograph: Bruce Crummy/AP

It’s possible, though, that if Kavanaugh is confirmed tomorrow the heat will go out of that battle for GOP voters and that surge may fade. But it is unlikely to fade for Democrats.

Updated

The Washington Post suggests that if senator Steve Daines heads to Montana to attend his daughter’s wedding tomorrow (see earlier), Republicans could wait till the early hours of Sunday so he can still cast his vote.

Daines’s vote will not be needed Saturday unless one Republican defects and Democrats stay unified against Kavanaugh. In that case, a Saturday evening session could be held open for hours into Sunday so Daines, who supports Kavanaugh, could return to Washington after the wedding and cast his vote.

Who are the key senators to watch today?

If two Republicans vote against Kavanaugh today, and all Democrats also reject him, his nomination is over.

Four senators remain undecided. They are:

Jeff Flake (Rep, Arizona)

The frequent Trump critic dismayed liberals when he voted in favour of Kavanaugh in last week’s committee vote. But he then stunned Washington by insisting the FBI reopen its background check into the nominee. But Flake has said the background check contained “no additional corroborating information” about the claims against Kavanaugh, and it would be a surprise now if he voted against the judge.

Susan Collins (Rep, Maine)

One of the most liberal Republican senators, Collins called the FBI’s work “a very thorough investigation”.

Lisa Murkowski (Rep, Alaska)

Another senator on the left of the Republican party, Murkowski said on Thursday she was “still reviewing” which way to vote.

Joe Manchin (Dem, West Virginia)

The conservative Democrat remains the only senator in his party undecided about Kavanaugh. He is up for re-election in November in a state won by Trump in 2016 with a 42-point margin, and will be worried about losing votes if he rejects the president’s nominee. On the other hand, he has around a 10-point lead in the polls, so he may decide he can weather any backlash. Manchin was confronted by a protester on Thursday, who asked him: “Why are you going to vote yes on this?” “How do you know I’m going to?” the senator replied. Asked directly how he was going to vote, he said: “I can’t tell you now.”

Even if all these senators vote “yes” in today’s cloture vote - a procedural one to end debate on the issue - one or more could conceivably then switch sides for a final vote tomorrow.

Updated

Republican senator set on attending daughter's wedding instead of Kavanaugh vote

Confirming Kavanaugh will be that bit harder for the Republicans if Senator Steve Daines of Montana goes ahead with his vow to attend his daughter’s wedding in his home state on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

If Daines walks his daughter down the aisle instead of voting in the expected final vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination tomorrow, only one Republican “no” vote would sink the nominee – provided, that is, all Democrats vote against him too.

The Senate is divided 51-49 Republican to Democrat. In the event of a tie, vice-president Mike Pence has the casting vote.

Senator Steve Daines of Montana
Senator Steve Daines of Montana Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Brett Kavanaugh took the unusual step on Thursday of taking the case for his confirmation to the US supreme court to the pages of the Wall Street Journal, admitting his Senate testimony “might have been too emotional” and insisting that he would be impartial if confirmed.

Kavanaugh’s aggressive demeanor and highly partisan statements - at one point he claimed the allegations against him were “revenge on behalf of the Clintons” – seemed designed to win over an audience of one: Donald Trump.

In that respect he was successful. The US president, who had been publicly wavering in his support for his nominee, came out strongly for Kavanaugh following his testimony, tweeting that “Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting.”

But Kavanaugh’s WSJ piece indicates that what went down well in the White House may not have been as welcome to some of the senators whose support he needs to be confirmed – most notably Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and conservative Democrat Joe Manchin.

He wrote:

I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have 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 dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters.

Going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good.

His comments came too late for one peer, former supreme court justice John Paul Stevens, who said on Thursday that Kavanaugh’s performance before the Senate judiciary committee had changed his mind about his fitness to serve on the highest court in the land.

“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 said, comparing Kavanaugh unfavourably with Clarence Thomas, who faced sexual harassment accusations during his successful confirmation process in 1991.

“There’s nothing that Clarence did in the hearings that disqualified him from sitting in cases after he came on the court,” Stevens said.

Updated

Good morning and welcome

The US Senate is due to take a crucial vote on Friday on whether to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nominate to the supreme court, with key senators still seemingly undecided on whether to vote to confirm him.

If 51 senators vote in favor of passing today’s “cloture vote”, the debate on his nomination must come to an end and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell can move to a final ballot for Kavanaugh’s nomination.

That final vote could then come as early as Saturday.

The cloture vote comes one day after senators reviewed a supplemental FBI investigation into allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted women three decades ago. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

The limited FBI investigation was triggered after Christine Blasey Ford testified at a Senate hearing last week that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when they were teenagers in high school.

The cloture vote will give an insight into how ready swing senators – such as Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine and Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia – are to vote on Kavanaugh.

Heading into the vote, two key Republicans, including Collins, expressed satisfaction with the findings in the report, indicating Kavanaugh could be confirmed by the senate.

We’ll have live updates on the vote – expected some time after 10.30am ET (3.30pm UK time) – as well as from the halls of Congress, which have been filled with protestors since Ford’s allegations were made public.

We’ll have live coverage here throughout the day.

Read more:

Updated

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