Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s second nominee to the Supreme Court, is expected to be confirmed to the court on Saturday with a Senate vote largely divided along party lines. The vote is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
The confirmation process has been bitterly partisan, and disputes were exacerbated by allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh that began surfacing in September. In response to the allegations, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. Kavanaugh denies the allegation, while she has stood by her testimony.
The committee paused the nomination process for a week so the FBI could investigate. Afterwards, Republicans declared that the FBI had not found any corroborating witnesses, while Democrats complained the FBI didn’t look hard or long enough.
When is the Senate vote on Kavanaugh?
Senators voted to advance Kavanaugh’s confirmation Friday morning by a 51-49 margin.
The final Senate vote is likely to occur at between 3:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. ET, with an expected 50-48 margin in favor of confirming Kavanaugh to the highest court.