[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh crossed a major hurdle on Friday in his pursuit of the Supreme Court, while the Senate had voted shortly against interrupting the debate on his nomination and the final vote on Saturday, but a Republican senator remained open. the possibility that she can always vote no.
The 51-49 vote is the penultimate step in the most tumultuous confirmation process of the Supreme Court for decades. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said her vote to advance the confirmation did not indicate how she would vote in the end. Instead, she will announce her position on Judge Kavanaugh at 3 pm Friday. Senator Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, also voted yes, freeing Vice President Mike Pence from a deciding vote on the nomination after Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted no.
It was unclear whether the votes of Senators Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona and Manchin reflected their final position. Republican leaders could be seen working hard even after the end of the procedural vote to overthrow Senator Murkowski's opposition.
For Judge Kavanaugh and the country, the stakes are enormous: if it is confirmed, the second Supreme Court candidate of President Trump will replace the Supreme Court's interim ruling, retired judge Anthony M. Kennedy, by a convinced conservative, altering the ideological balance of the court. to the right for generations.
President Trump triumphed on Twitter.
Friday's vote marks the beginning of 30 hours of debate before the final Senate vote on Judge Kavanaugh. This happened while senators were still absorbing the results of a confidential call from F.B.I. Investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh, allegations that tore up the Senate and divided the country.
Before the vote, differing and often bitter senators made concluding remarks on Friday morning that showed how the appointment divided the Senate.
Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, accused the Democrats of running a scorched campaign to destroy Judge Kavanaugh – "the most qualified candidate in the history of our country" – before can be confirmed. He added that the burden of proof for the accusers of the proposed candidate was not satisfied and that a thorough investigation had not revealed any evidence to corroborate their claims.
"We had a distraction campaign of his exceptional qualifications, a campaign of destruction of this individual," said Mr. Grassley. "What we have learned is the resistance that has existed since the day after the focus of the November 2016 elections, right here at Capitol Hill. They encouraged the rule of the crowd. "
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the leader of the majority, mocked the Democrats and warned that a vote against Judge Kavanaugh based on unsubstantiated charges would dangerously erode "the ideals of justice that have has served our country well for so long. "
And President Trump urged the Senate to assert that the protesters were "criers" and "professionals" paid by the financier George Soros, a used trope of the far right.
After the vote, he praised the legislators on Twitter. "Very proud of the US Senate for voting" YES "to advance Justice Brett Kavanaugh's appointment!"
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the Committee's highest-ranking Democrat, said that Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly been disqualified because of his views on presidential power, gun rights and the right to privacy. 39; abortion. She reprimanded the Republicans for an incomplete investigation into sexual misconduct complaints against him and said that Judge Kavanaugh's emotional defense, at a public hearing last week, had demonstrated an unfit temperament to the function.
"Given all the factors before us, I do not think Judge Kavanaugh won this seat," she said.
Democrats and Republicans seemed to agree, at least superficially. The behavior of senators has been inappropriate.
"When future Americans return to these debates, they learn nothing from the conduct of the Senate," said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, Democratic leader.
Taking place in the context of the #MeToo movement, in the midst of a controversial mid-term election, the Kavanaugh inaugural fight energized the country's Liberals and Conservatives.
Mr. Trump is using it to strengthen his supporters. At the rally in Minnesota this week, thousands of supporters of the president chanted "Vote it! Vote for him! Hundreds of anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators, many of them women, have been to the Capitol in recent weeks, waving Kava-Nope placards and confronting Republican senators.
Just a few weeks ago, 53-year-old Justice Kavanaugh seemed unwilling to be confirmed.
From the beginning, Democrats have tried to portray him as a partisan, thus recalling his work on the investigation that led to the removal of former President Bill Clinton and his stay at the George W. White House. Bush. They warned that it would threaten women's rights and overthrow the Roe v. Wade, 1973 Supreme Court decision that created a constitutional right to abortion. But he did well in his initial confirmation hearings, avoiding the pitfalls of two long days of thorny questions.
But when Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology researcher in northern California, publicly accused Judge Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her as a teenager, her appointment suddenly seemed on the verge of collapse. Judge Kavanaugh vigorously denied the allegations.
As more women brought new charges, Judges Kavanaugh and Blasey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, citing another controversial Supreme Court case in a captivating scene: Justice Clarence Thomas' appointment in 1991 , accused of sexual harassment. by law professor Anita Hill. Dr. Blasey has become a household name and a new symbol of the # MeToo movement. Judge Kavanaugh's past in high school and university, including a history of excessive drinking, was exposed and his moving and moving testimony – including the barbaric comments addressed to his Democratic interlocutors – raised questions about his honesty and temperament.
He responded on Thursday night, on the eve of Friday's vote, with an extraordinary Opinion article in the Wall Street Journal. In this paper, he was trying to reassure undecided senators that he possessed a proper judicial temper, attributing his act to his "overwhelming frustration of being wrongly accused".
The Democrats tried to portray him as a partisan, recalling his work on the investigation that led to the removal of former President Bill Clinton and his stint at George W. Bush's White House. He warned that he would threaten women's rights and reverse the case of Roe v. Wade, 1973 Supreme Court decision that created a constitutional right to abortion.
Republicans have praised the F.B.I. The results are also favorable for Judge Kavanaugh, stating that none of the nine witnesses interviewed corroborated the accounts of two women, Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, whose charges were the subject of An investigation. Democrats have called the inquiry lime, claiming that the F.B.I. failed to prosecute and question witnesses who had relevant information.
Trump prepared the senators for the vote by urging them to ignore the protesters who invaded the Senate. He called them "paid professionals" and hinted that they are being paid by George Soros, a liberal financier who has long played in far right conspiracy theories.
[ad_2]
Source link
