Brett Kavanaugh vote – LIVE: Donald Trump's pick confirmed to Supreme Court amid widespread outcry over sexual assault allegations
Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed as the next US Supreme Court justice by the Senate after a highly charged confirmation process in which he was accused of sexual assault.
At a passionate hearing last week, Mr Kavanaugh denied allegations levelled against him by psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford that he assaulted her while they were both at high school in 1982.
Several key wavering senators confirmed on Friday they would approve Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination to the court after a mammoth series of hearings lasting more than 30 hours.
Ultimately, Mr Kavanaugh was confirmed 50-48.
Republican Senator Steve Daines was not present since his daughter is getting married in Montana today. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski was the lone party defector, but she declined to formally cast her "no" vote out of respect for the party and because it would not have made a difference in the final decision to place Mr Kavanaugh on the court.
The judge scraped through a procedural ballot 51 to 49 after key swing voters such as Republican senator Susan Collins and Democrat Joe Manchin announced they would support his appointment.
Welcome to our live updates on a day in which senators are likely to confirm judge Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the US Supreme Court.
The embattled judge won a senate procedural vote 51 to 49 on Friday, setting the stage for his place on the nation's highest court to be confirmed over the weekend.
Brett Kavanaugh is set to be confirmed on Saturday after a number of potential swing voters in the Senate announced they would approve his appointment.
One of those key securing enough support for Mr Kavanaugh to drag his nomination over the line is Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who has said he will defy his party and vote favour of the judge.
Meanwhile, wavering Republican senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake, have also now stated they will support Mr Kavanaugh.
US president Donald Trump, who nominated Brett Kavanaugh to take the place of retired judge Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court in July, tweeted yesterday he was "proud" of the Senate for backing his candidate by 51 to 49 in a razor-thin vote.
Meanwhile, retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens has said Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed by senators.
The 98-year-old, who was appointed to the US’s highest court under the presidency of Gerald Ford in 1975 and served on the bench until 2010, has previously praised Mr Kavanaugh and one of his rulings.
But, Mr Stevens said his opinion on the judge had changed after his infamous performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he gave evidence on sexual assault allegations that have dogged him during the nomination process.
Mr Stevens also said Mr Kavanaugh would be unable to perform his job effectively due to his potential political biases.
Senators on both sides of the house have plenty to say about Brett Kavanaugh's second appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, when he answered to allegations of sexual assault made against him by Christine Blasey Ford and several other women.
The judge refuted the claims during an ill-tempered testimony last week, in which he often raised his voice and appeared aggressive towards lawmakers who challenged him on his version of events.
Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein says the hearing showed Mr Kavanaugh did not possess the necessary temperament to serve on the highest court in the United States.
However, one of her Republican counterparts, Orrin Hatch, who has stated he believes the allegations made against Mr Kavanaugh are false, tweeted a quote from a recent article defending the judge in conservative magazine National Review.
If confirmed, Brett Kavanaugh will ascend to the US Supreme Court, after which he will be free to remain on the bench for the rest of his life.
The court’s judges are offered lifetime positions in a bid to unburden them of having to make particular rulings based on political pressures they may instead bow to if they were seeking re-election.
Mr Kavanaugh will take the seat of the now-retired justice Anthony Kennedy – a swing voter who often cast the deciding opinion on many of the nine-judge court’s recent rulings.
However, Mr Kavanaugh is likely to tip the balance in favour of the court’s conservative judges, who will now outnumber their liberal colleagues five to four.
At 53, Mr Kavanaugh could serve upwards of three decades on the bench, during which time the court could remain staunchly on the right.
The Senate vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is finely balanced, with the “yes” side winning a procedural ballot yesterday by the slim margin of 51 to 49.
Those who voted “no” included 47 Democratic senators, independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King, and a single Republican, while the 51 “yes” votes were made up of 50 Republican senators and one Democrat.
Joe Manchin, the only Democrat to vote for Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation, is likely under pressure from the next month's midterm elections.
A senator for West Virginia, a state that has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2000 and where every single county voted for Donald Trump in 2016, Mr Manchin may feel he needs to support the judge in order to save his seat.
Meanwhile, Alaska’s Republican senator Lisa Murkowiski voted against Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation proceeding on Friday, although she has yet to announce which side she will opt for in the final poll.
Republican senator Susan Collins, who some felt could be swayed to vote “no” on the judge’s appointment, announced yesterday she instead plans to vote in his favour.
With the vote so finely balanced, Republican senator Steve Daines has said he is prepared to rush back to Washington on the day of his daughter's wedding if required in a bid to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Mr Daines, who will walk his daughter down the aisle in Montana on Saturday afternoon, said he has a private jet waiting if he needs to be “in two places at once”.
He added the jet had been laid on by his Republican colleague Greg Gianforte, in order to whisk him back to Washington in time for the crucial vote.
Senators have now begun debating Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court for what is likely to be the last time, before a final vote takes place on whether or not to confirm his ascension later today.
You can now follow all the action from Washington in our video live stream at the top of this page alongside our updates on the latest talking points and analysis from Saturday's hearing.
While the impending midterm elections may play a part in Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation, Democrat representative from New York, Jerrold Nadler, has said his party will open an investigation into allegations of sexual assault and perjury against the judge if they win control of the House in November.
Mr Nadler has accused Senate Republicans of conducting a "whitewash" of misconduct claims made against the judge during the course of his confirmation process and warned the situation served to undermine the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.
“[Opening an investigation into Mr Kavanaugh] is not something we are eager to do,” Mr Nadler said in an interview on Friday.
“But, the Senate having failed to do its proper constitutionally mandated job of advise and consent, we are going to have to do something to provide a check and balance, to protect the rule of law and to protect the legitimacy of one of our most important institutions.”
Melania Trump has offered her support to Brett Kavanaugh ahead of the vote on his confirmation expected this afternoon.
“I think he's highly qualified for the Supreme Court,” the first lady told reporters travelling with her in Egypt on the final leg of her four-country tour of Africa.
She added she was glad both Mr Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women accusing the judge of sexual assault, were both heard during the course of the confirmation process.
But, without weighing in on the claims of sexual misconduct levelled against Mr Kavanaugh, Ms Trump said victims of “any kind of abuse of violence” must be helped.
Donald Trump has tweeted for the first time on Saturday, to claim supporters of his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who the president describes as a "very good man", are gathering on Capitol Hill ahead of today's vote.
"It is a beautiful thing to see - and they are not paid professional protesters who are handed expensive signs. Big day for America!" Mr Trump adds.
Speaking at the hearing currently underway, Democratic senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand has described Brett Kavanaugh's expected appointment to the Supreme Court will mark a “painful day” for America.
“Today is a painful day for millions of women across the country, who are worried about losing their basic civil rights,” she said.
“It’s a painful day for survivors who have had to relive their trauma and it is also a painful day for men who hope to see this Senate stand on the right side of history.
“In a few hours, the US Senate is going to turn its back on righteousness, it is going to turn its back its back on fairness and reason and make no mistake, it’s going to turn its back on women.”
The outcome of the Senate vote confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is likely to be close, although there is now little question over what the eventual result will be.
It is thought enough senators will support for the judge to give him a two-vote margin of victory – but would that be the closest vote on a Supreme Court nominee in history?
In fact, the closest confirmation votes for a Supreme Court nominee were decided by a single senator.
In 1881, Justice Stanley Matthews prevailed in a vote of 24 to 23. In 1861, nominee Jeremiah Black was defeated by a vote of 26 to 25.
However, there have also been narrow votes in more recent times - the confirmation of Clarence Thomas in 1991 was the closest of any of the current Supreme Court justices, passing 52 to 48 with a margin of just four.
Samuel Alito, a judge often considered on of the most conservative currently sitting on the bench, was appointed following another relatively close vote of 58 to 42 after his nomination by George W Bush in 2006.
Robert Post, the former dean of Yale Law school, where Brett Kavanaugh studied, has said that the judge has "stoked the fires of partisan rage and male entitlement" and he will now remain a "symbol of partisan anger".
"His performance is indelibly etched in the public mind. For as long as Kavanaugh sits on the court, he will remain a symbol of partisan anger, a haunting reminder that behind the smiling face of judicial benevolence lies the force of an urgent will to power," he wrote in Politico.
The final vote is scheduled to take place at approximately 3:30pm EST.
Once confirmed, Mr Kavanaugh's appointment will be a big victory for Donald Trump and what many sexual assault survivors have said is a demoralising hit to the #metoo social justice movement.
Mr Trump joins the list of presidents in American history who have been able to place two Supreme Court Justices. He has also done it faster than any of them, shy of two years in office.
Sitting Justice Elena Kagan has expressed concern over the all-but-guaranteed appointment of Mr Kavanaugh.
At a Princeton University women's conference yesterday, Ms Kagan commented on losing the more centrist Justice Anthony Kennedy and replacing him with right-wing Mr Kavanaugh: “It’s not so clear, that I think going forward, that sort of middle position — it's not so clear whether we’ll have it".
"All of us need to be aware of that — every single one of us — and to realize how precious the court’s legitimacy is. It's an incredibly important thing for the court to guard is this reputation of being impartial, being neutral and not being simply an extension of a terribly polarising process," she said.
Here is Republican Senator Susan Collins' speech on why she decided to vote "yes" on Mr Kavanaugh despite fierce protesting from sexual assault survivors and thousands of women.
Well before the announcement, an activist group in her home state of Maine had pledged they would fundraise against Ms Collins' yet-to-be-named opponent in her 2020 re-election bid.
The crowdfunding campaign has already raised more than $3m (£2.3m) in less than 24 hours.
You can watch our livestream of the continuing Senate debate leading up to the vote as divisions are split along party lines and each Senator is stating their reasons for voting yes or no on Mr Kavanaugh.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin was also a key vote. He had remained publicly undecided until moments after Ms Collins' dramatic announcement.
Protesters tried to drown him out as he spoke with journalists outside of his Capitol Hill office, shouting "Shame!" repeatedly and asking "What is wrong with you?!"
While many Democrats were disappointed in Mr Manchin, others have noted it may be better in the long run for his re-election bid next month in the "red" Republican state of West Virginia - meaning at least there could be one more Democrat in the Senate for the next six years.
Read more here about the electoral and political reasons he may have done it.
The vote has set the stage for lawmakers to sign off on his ascension to a seat on the nation’s highest court over the weekend.
However, Mr Kavanaugh’s appointment has proved contentious after several women came forward during the course of the hearings to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee received testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, one of Mr Kavanaugh’s accusers as part of the evidence sessions.
The hearing saw Ms Ford give a tearful account of an incident at a house party in 1982, during which she alleges she was assaulted by Mr Kavanaugh while one of his friends watched on.
The judge, who denies all the accusations made against him, gave a combative and at times aggressive defence of himself to the committee.
However, he repeatedly dodged the question of whether he would accept an FBI investigation into the allegations that could potentially clear his name.
Protests were staged on Capitol Hill throughout the day, with some women openly weeping over the prospect of Mr Kavanaugh being appointed to the court.
Friday’s senate vote appeared to please Donald Trump, who nominated the judge to take the empty seat left by the retirement of judge Anthony Kennedy.
“Very proud of the US Senate for voting “YES” to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!” the president tweeted.
Mr Kavanaugh’s appointment to the seat previously held by the moderate Justice Kennedy means the Supreme Court is likely to drift to the right for decades.
Conservative judges would outnumber their liberal colleagues five to four on the court once his nomination is approved as expected.
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