A sharply divided Senate reflecting a deeply divided nation voted almost entirely along party lines Saturday afternoon to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The vote was 50-48. Only one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, joined Republicans in backing Kavanaugh. One Republican, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted "present" although she said she opposed the nomination. One GOP senator was absent during the vote because of his daughter's wedding thousands of miles from Washington, D.C.
In a tweet soon after the vote, President Trump celebrated the confirmation and said Kavanaugh will be officially sworn in soon.
The Supreme Court said in a statement that Kavanaugh will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy Saturday evening. Roberts will administer the constitutional oath and Kennedy will administer the judicial oath in private ceremony at the court. "Both oaths will be administered so that (Kavanaugh) can begin to participate in the work of the Court immediately," the statement said. A formal investiture ceremony will take place at a later date, the Supreme Court also said.
Senators sat at their desks during Saturday's vote, which was presided over by Vice President Mike Pence. In the debate preceding it, senators sounded as though they were describing two different men. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, called Kavanaugh "among the very best our nation has to offer." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the 53-year-old Kavanaugh a victim of "an ugly left-wing smear campaign," and charged Democrats with character assassination.
Kavanaugh had been accused by three women of sexual misconduct while he was in high school and college more than 30 years ago charges he angrily denied.