Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
Brett Kavanaugh and his family with President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018.
The U.S. Senate today confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme following a contentious nomination fight.
The vote was 50-48 along largely partisan lines.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, was the sole Democrat to vote in favor of Kavanaugh. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted present, while Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., was absent, attending his daughter’s wedding, according to reports.
“I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearing and my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced any type of sexual assault in their life,” Manchin said in a statement. “However, based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him. I do hope that Judge Kavanaugh will not allow the partisan nature this process took to follow him onto the court.”
Kavanaugh replaces Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement earlier this year. President Ronald Reagan nominated Kennedy in 1987; he was sworn in on Feb. 18, 1988.
