Following a vicious confirmation process riddled with sexual misconduct allegations that appeared to possible derail it, the Senate officially confirmed President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice on Saturday. Delivering a huge victory for Trump, the final vote to confirm Kavanaugh was, just like his confirmation process, anything but smooth.
With vociferous chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” from protesters in the public viewing gallery, divided senators voted 50-48, with one present, to confirm Kavanaugh to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who would have voted against Kavanaugh’s confirmation, noted that she would like her vote to be marked “present,” a logistical maneuver that would address the fact Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana was unable to attend the confirmation vote because he walked his daughter down the aisle. Murkowski’s present vote, along with Daines’ expected vote in favor of Kavanaugh, ultimately negated each other.
Vice President Mike Pence, who serves as the president of the Senate, had to repeatedly call the sergeant at arms to calm protesters in the gallery during the vote, ABC News reports.
“I do not consent! Where's my representation?” a female protester yelled from the gallery before being removed from the chamber.
Shortly after the vote, Trump congratulated the Senate and his nominee.
“I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump tweeted. “Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!”
I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court. Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2018
According to CNN, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the president called his Supreme Court nominee while aboard Air Force One to congratulate him while on his way to a campaign rally in Kansas.
Before an enthusiastic crowd at a rally in Topeka, Kansas, Trump applauded Kavanaugh’s confirmation, calling it a “historic night.”
“I stand before you today on the heels of a tremendous victory for our nation, our people and our beloved Constitution,” Trump said, while also dismissing the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh by accusing Democrats of waging a “shameless campaign of political and personal destruction.”
Saturday evening, Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley Kavanaugh, were seen in a black SUV entering the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was sworn in by Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose spot he will be taking when the justice retires, and current Justice John Roberts.
The confirmation vote came after weeks of tense political debate, as Kavanaugh defended himself against sexual misconduct allegations. Adding to the uncertainty of his confirmation, the Senate Judiciary Committee requested the FBI conduct a supplemental background investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations waged against Kavanaugh by chief Kavanaugh accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, as well as another accuser, Deborah Ramirez.
His path to being confirmed to the Supreme Court seemed to rest in the hands of a few key wavering senators, but his path ultimately cleared when Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona announced that they would vote in favor of the nominee after concluding that Ford’s allegations, voiced by her in an emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, were not corroborated in the supplemental background investigation.
Just hours after the Senate voted 51-49 Friday to end debate and proceed to the confirmation vote, Collins announced during a speech on the Senate floor that she would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, according to CNN.
“This is not a criminal trial, and I do not believe that claims such as these need to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” Collins said in her lengthy speech defending her decision to vote in favor of Kavanaugh.
Following Collins’ announcement of support, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, another key undecided vote, declared in a statement that he, too, would vote “yes,” ensuring the votes needed to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Manchin, a red state Democrat, said that while he had “reservations” regarding the allegations, he did what was “best for West Virginia,” confident that Kavanaugh would “follow the Constitution.”
Ford’s attorneys announced that their client had no regrets in coming forward with her story, ABC News reports.
“I think she feels good about the fact that she came forward and did what she felt strongly was her civic duty to do, which is to provide the information she had to the Judiciary Committee so that they could make a better decision — a more informed decision,” Ford’s attorney, Lisa Banks, told ABC News’ Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce.
When asked if Ford would ever be able to lead a normal life again, her attorney sounded optimistic.
“She’s going to go back to teaching. She loves being a teacher. She's very good at it,” attorney Debra Katz said. “And she's looking forward to getting back to her family and her friends and her job. And we continue this fight, we continue to look for corroborating evidence against Judge Kavanaugh.”