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The Senate will take a pivotal vote Friday on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as the battle over President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump: 'The US is with Kavanaugh all the way' Sasse: I encouraged Trump to pick someone other than Kavanaugh Sasse: Trump's rhetoric on Ford 'wrong' but not surprising MORE'S pick enters its final chapter.
Four Senators – Three Republicans and a Democrat – remained undecided on Thursday, though two of them reported a sense of satisfaction with the FBI's investigation of sexual assault allegations that Kavanaugh's tormented nomination was threatened.
Senate Republican leaders vote to hold a key procedural vote Friday morning, setting up a confirmation vote for Saturday afternoon. Friday's closing vote is scheduled to happen at 10:30 am
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp
Mary (Heidi) Kathryn HeitkampMcConnell sets key Kavanaugh vote for Friday Poll: Heitkamp trails Cramer by 12 points in North Dakota Election Countdown: Dems raising millions in fight for House | Trump attacks potential challengers | GOP finalizes 2020 convention plans | Dems see Kavanaugh fight driving women polls | Bloomberg spending big for Senate Dems MORE (N.D.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this year, said Thursday she would be voting "no" on Kavanaugh, making her the penultimate Senate Democrat to announce her position.
Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsTrump: 'The US is with Kavanaugh all the way' McConnell sets key Kavanaugh vote for Friday The Memo: Trump's shot at Ford seems to backfire MORE (Maine), one of the three undecided GOP senators, is expected to announce her position on Friday morning.
If senators vote Kavanaugh's nomination, they are expected, they will have to allow another 30 hours for procedural debate, putting the final vote in mid-afternoon the following day.
The Supreme Court nominee since Justice Clarence Thomas faced sexual harassment charges in 1991.
Kavanaugh's confirmation process was wrought by political warfare even before Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University, was invited to attend a party in the early 1980s when they were both in high school.
Democrats slammed Republicans for Making Tens of Money from Kavanaugh's Record of the Day.
The fight reached a new level of intensity after Ford went public with her assault allegation.
Nearly 300 people were arrested Thursday afternoon after staging loud protests in the Hart Senate office building, while protesters have been confronting multiple swing senators in the hallways in recent days.
Senate Republicans on Thursday declared that any trace of bipartisanship on judicial nominees has evaporated and warned that it would deter future candidates from being willing to undergo the confirmation process.
"If this is the new normal, we would like to see that we could be subject to the unacceptable character of murder," said Senate Republican Whip. John Cornyn
John CornynKavanaugh Fighting the King of Fiction GOP Seniors Call for Kavanaugh FBI (Texas). "If that's the new normal, I do not know who would want to serve."
Anti-Kavanaugh Protests have grown so intense on Capitol Hill that members of the Senate have been assigned police escorts for protection.
GOP senators say they expect Collins, one of the most influential Republican women in Washington, to vote for the nominee because she has a consensus-building judge and not a conservative ideologist.
"I'm sensing we're in a good place," said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune
John Randolph ThuneGOP Senators call for Kavanaugh FBI findings to be made public GOP expects Senate FBI report by Wednesday afternoon (R-S.D.), Who predicted that Collins and other two swing Republicans – Sens. Jeff Flake
Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeTrump: 'The US is with Kavanaugh all the way' McConnell sets key Kavanaugh vote for Friday The Memo: Trump's shot at Ford seems to backfire MORE (Ariz.) And Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann MurkowskiTrump: 'The US is with Kavanaugh all the way' McConnell sets key Kavanaugh vote for Friday The Memo: Trump's shot at Ford seems to backfire MORE (Alaska) – would vote "yes."
Thune said the FBI's "supplemental investigation checked all the boxes and I think they were allegedly there."
Colleagues who have spoken with Collins say she is a better candidate for the Supreme Court than the rest of the world.
That reputation, however, was undermined by the testimony of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Kavanaugh angrily clashed with Democratic senators.
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, speaking to a small audience in Boca Raton, Fla., On Thursday said Kavanaugh's aggressive performance should disqualify him.
"The senators should pay attention to this," he said, according to a reporter for the Palm Beach Post, who attended the event.
Collins, who prides herself on an independent voice, as the vote that would make or break Kavanaugh.
She has consulted closely with Sen. Rob Portman
Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanOvernight Energy – Presented by Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance – Trump law abatement program at wildlife refuges | Pruitt canceled trips he already had tickets for | Senate panel approves new parks fund Senate panel moves to renew expired park conservation fund (R-Ohio), who worked with Kavanaugh in the George W. Bush and the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Portman puts on Collins on Thursday morning to discuss Kavanaugh's appointment. He was also spotted escorting the Capitol Visitor Center where she reviewed the FBI's 46-page report Thursday afternoon.
She looked after the two hours of the report.
"I have finished reviewing and reading all the interviews, but I'm not giving it now," she said afterward, while being escorted through the Senate basement by a Capitol police officer.
Collins declined to answer multiple questions, which would have been more important than the report was "thorough" or about how she would vote Friday, but said she would read "many" of the transcripts from the FBI's tip line.
Collins praised the FBI investigation earlier in the day as "very thorough," which Democrats took over as Kavanaugh's favor.
Flake, who voted for Kavanaugh last week when the Judiciary Committee moved forward on his appointment to the Senate floor, is also expected to vote to confirm him.
Flake asked for and secured a one-week delay of a floor vote on Kavanaugh to give the FBI a new report on the recent allegations against Kavanaugh.
The Arizona Republican told reporters on Thursday that the FBI's report found no corroboration of Ford's accusation that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and when they were in high school.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons
Christopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsJudiciary Dems call on GOP counterparts to correct Kavanaugh tweets Judging Kavanaugh, Ford takes 'emotional intelligence' The Senate strikes back with the Flake flip MORE (Del.) Said he hoped to speak with Flake on Thursday but they had an agenda, after the two crafted one-week timeline for the FBI investigation.
Coons found only a couple of days ago after a source told The Atlantic that Flake was "still having issues" and wanted to speak to Coons.
I can give you, "Coons said," when asked if they are meeting. "There is no secret scheme that I am hiding."
Senate Democrats criticized the investigation as it fell short of a thorough review, and Ford's legal team wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray noting that investigators failed to contact several witnesses who they said had "information highly relevant to Dr. Ford's allegations."
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer
Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerGOP candidate Hawley releases ad slamming Senate "circus" on Kavanaugh nomination Schumer: 'Kavanaugh's testimony is better suited for Fox News than a confirmation hearing' (N.Y.) challenged GOP statements that the FBI report failed to corroborate Ford's claims.
"He seems very clearly to me that the FBI was severely limited in which issues they could ask and which leads they could follow," he said.
"To say that this investigation is exonerates Judge Kavanaugh, or to say that this is a complete investigation, is patently false," he added, arguing that it's "just not true" that there was "no hint of misconduct."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFord attorneys slam FBI's Kavanaugh investigation for not interviewing Ford, McConnell's Witnesses sets key Kavanaugh's vote for Friday Rand Paul's wife pens letter to Booker following protests, threats against husband MORE (R-Ky.) Dismissed that argument.
"We know for sure there's no way we would satisfy the Democrats," he told reporters Thursday afternoon. "They've always got a reason why we could not wait for them."
Every Senate Democrat has announced they will oppose Kavanaugh except for centrist Sen. Joe Manchin
Joseph (Joe) ManchinMcConnell sets key Kavanaugh vote for Friday Kavanaugh fight puts on the edge of precipice Poll: Heitkamp trails Cramer by 12 points in North Dakota MORE (W.Va.), who faces reelection in a state Trump won by 42 points in 2016.
Manchin told reporters Thursday afternoon that he's still weighing his decision.
"I'm going through it. I have gotten to go back to the next day, "he said.
Manchin was later confronted in the basement of the Hart Building by a protest demanding to know why he was planning to vote for Kavanaugh.
"How do you know how am I gonna vote?" He shot back.
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