Kavanaugh fight sharpens the stakes for midterms
- by Claire Allen
- in Culture&Arts
- — Oct 8, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday as US Supreme Court justice following the closest Senate confirmation vote in more than a century, marking a major win for President Donald Trump's drive to move the country's political institutions to the right.
The Senate vote was 50-48.Only one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, joined Republicans in backing Kavanaugh.
"There's only ever been one justice that's been impeached, and I think talking about it at this point isn't necessarily healing us and moving us forward", said Mr. Coons.
"I will tell you, had we not succeeded, the president and I fully meant to fill the seat before the end of the year", McConnell said.
Republicans control the Senate by a meager 51-49 margin, and announcements of support Friday from Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of ME, along with Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, locked in the needed votes.
In his first tweet after the vote, Trump said he told Republican Senator Steve Daines it was alright to miss the vote for his daughter's wedding back home in Montana.
In the end, the Senate delivered on the country's divisions nearly as cleanly as possible, with only a single Democrat and a single Republican voting with colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
But after an 11th-hour investigation by the FBI into the allegations, enough wavering senators made a decision to back the nomination.
Susan Collins (R-ME) for her doubting of the woman who raised sexual assault accusations against him.
President Trump said in an exclusive interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro that he was "shocked" to see Alaska Republican Sen.
McConnell said the confirmation fight had energized Republican voters and he praised GOP senators, who he said had "stood up to the mob" in favor of the "presumption of innocence".
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At the time, China and Mexico were rhapsodising about their close and rosy relationship. Pence also denounced Beijing's crackdown on minority Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
On Saturday night, Trump portrayed his successful confirmation vote on Kavanaugh as a reason voters should elect Republicans in next month's nationwide congressional elections, when the political control of Congress is at stake.
"We simply followed the tradition in America, which is that if you have a Senate of a different party than the president, you don't fill a vacancy created in a presidential year", McConnell continued.
Demonstrators shout as they protest against the appointment of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court in Washington DC.
Ms Murkowski had earlier said that although Mr Kavanaugh was a "good man", he was "not the right person for the court at this time" and his "appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable".
In stressing Kavanaugh's frequent agreement with Judge Merrick Garland on the federal appeals court in Washington, the new justice's backers seem to be suggesting that Kavanaugh's vote can not be taken for granted.
US President Donald Trump says goodbye to the crowd during a campaign rally October 6, 2018, in Topeka, Kansas.
She demurred, but then added: "I'm focused like a laser beam on the elections".
"One can only hope that the Kavanaugh nomination is where the process has finally hit rock-bottom", said Sen.
Schumer said Kavanaugh's "partisan screed" showed not only a temperament unfitting for the high court but a lack of objectivity that should make him ineligible to serve.
Kavanaugh fought back against the accusations, denying them in angry and tearful testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that was viewed live on television by around 20 million people. "It is, I have to admit, a great sense of accomplishment here".
"You can't be a professional woman, even today, whether it's in law, in medicine, in any field, without having a moment where someone is going to treat you differently because you're a woman", said Sotomayor, CBS News reported.
