Evidence to support their allegations. Including naming over two dozen witnesses each. Unfortunately, the limited investigation that was conducted by the fbi failed to interview any one of the witnesses these two women identified who could support her account. Let me say that again. They refused to investigate, to talk with any of the 24 witnesses that could have supported their accounts. Mr. President , i think its important to remember why were here today. Were here to determine whether judge kavanaugh has demonstrated the impartiality, the temperament, the even handedness thats needed to serve on this Great High Court of our land. If confirmed, he will join eight
other individuals who are charged with deciding how the laws of our land are interpreted and applied. He would be a deciding vote on the most important issues affecting our country. And every american for generations to come. Mr. President , Madam President , based on all of the factors we have before us, i do not believe judge kavanaugh has earned this seat. Thank you. Dianne feinstein, the top democrat on the Senate Judiciary committee making the case against confirmation of judge kavanaugh. Were expecting to hear momentarily from chuck schumer, the democratic leader, the minority leader in the u. S. Senate. Hes expected to speak shortly. Hell be followed by mitch mcconnell, the Majority Leader, the Top Republican in the u. S. Senate. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer reporting from washington. This is truly a very, very important moment in u. S. History. A moment that could affect americans lives for generations. In a few minutes, the u. S. Senate will vote on the future of the Supreme CourtNominee JudgeBrett Kavanaugh. Will he take the swing seat on the high court, shifting the balance towards conservatives for decades to come . Or will the gop come up a vote or two short . Its unclear right now what the final vote on the senate floor will be. Republican leaders said this morning they did not, they did not yet have all the votes they need, but they also said they remain confident they can get to the crucial number. That number is 50 votes. They need 50 votes. If its a tie, 50 50, the Vice President of the United States, mike pence, he breaks the tie in favor of confirmation. There are 51 republicans in the u. S. Senate, 49 democrats. Two of whom are independents,
but caucus with the democrats. 51 49. This is going to be a critical moment. Right now, manu raju is up on capitol hill. Manu, expecting to hear from chuck schumer, mitch mcconnell, lots of speakers, a few more speakers before this critically important procedural vote. Yeah, and we dont know how its going to go. And the final vote quite yet, wolf. The four undeclared senators are still undeclared. Joe manchin, the West Virginia democrat, right now is Behind Closed Doors reading this material about Brett Kavanaughs past. Entering this closeddoor briefing to understand what happened. He refused to say how he would vote. He actually said he would not make a decision until the vote is actually cast. Now, the three republican senators were watching very closely, also have not made their decisions known yet. Lisa murkowski of alaska, Susan Collins of maine, jeff flake of arizona. We expect Susan Collins to make
her announcement about her final vote later this afternoon. So potentially her vote this morning may not be the same as her vote tomorrow. We just dont know the answer to that. She declined to comment on her way into her office this morning. So the Republican Leadership at the moment is confident that ultimately that kavanaugh will get confirmed, that theyll overcome this democratic filibuster this morning, but no one can say for sure, and republicans i have talked to this morning, wolf, say they dont know what is going to happen, which makes this vote very dramatic as we head into the crucial 10 30 vote this morning. Well see how the senators react, if they hold back and wait until the end of the vote to cast their vote or if they decide right away, going yea or nay. We dont know how thats going to go at the moment. Significant time in the senate. A rare moment. Manu, hold on for a moment. Chuck schumer, the democratic leader of the minority leader is
speaking. Ill get to him in a moment, but dana bash, you have breaking news. Im told as manu was talking about one of the key republican senators here, Susan Collins. Im told she will vote yes on this mornings procedural vote, the cloture vote. However, we have all been kind of looking coming up to this vote as the key vote. It might not be the key vote. Because shes going to vote yes, but then shes going to give a speech on the floor at 3 00 where shes then going to talk about her final vote, whether she will actually vote to confirm. And that could be different. It could be the same, but it could be different. Theres going to be tremendous suspense, assuming that this cloture vote passes between then and when we have that question about the final vote. Everybody stand by. Thats important news. Susan collins is concerned. Chuck schumer is speaking on the floor. And finally, the dam broke under the weight of credible allegations that judge kavanaugh committed a Sexual Assault in
high school. In 2018, the republican majority conducted a hearing that made the Anita Hill Hearings in 1991 look fair by comparison. In this hearing, there were no corroborating witnesses on either side. No independent investigation of the facts to inform the questioning. They even hired an outside counsel to put a witness, dr. Ford, on trial. Only at the 11th hour urging a Breakaway Members of their caucus, republicans submitted reluctantly to a oneweek investigation of the allegations. An investigation which was then severely circumscribed by the white house. Our republican friends blame us for this process. Theyre always finding a strawman, but nothing could be
further from the truth. First, they blame us for delay. Knowing full well that Majority Leader mcconnell has complete control of when nominees are brought to the floor. Leader mcconnell could have moved this nominee two weeks ago or one week ago. Democrats had no say and dont when it comes to who comes to the floor. But in each case, leader mcconnell couldnt move the nominee forward because he was blocked by fellow republicans, not democrats, from moving forward. When it comes to complaining about delay, two words never come from our republican friendslips. Merrick garland. Republicans are also saying we engaged in, quote, a Smear Campaign, or the politics of Personal Destruction, with this
nomination. In reality, again, theyre using democrats as a strawman because what theyre really talking about is what dr. Ford said. Democrats did not induce her to come forward. Her conscience did. And our republican friends are our republican friends accusing dr. Ford and her deeply held memories of what happened to her of a Smear Campaign . Are they accusing dr. Ford of a Smear Campaign . Of engaging in the politics of Personal Destruction . Because that is who theyre actually blaming. Theyre decrying her testimony. And then trying to blame democrats. I dont blame them. They have a flawed nominee. They dont want the focus on the nominee. When future americans look back at these proceedings, let them draw no lessons from the
senates conduct here. Let them look back on this chapter as the shameful culmination of the Scorched Earth politics practiced by the hard right in america. People who will stop at nothing to entrench an advantage on our nations courts. Let the Confirmation Process for judge kavanaugh be recorded as a sorry epilogue to the brazen theft of Justice Scalias seat, the ignominious end of bipartisan cooperation and consultation on the confirmation of Supreme Court justices. And for what . For whom were Senate Republican leaders willing to discard all semblance of fairness to confirm . Judge Brett Kavanaugh certainly a product of an elite education, but also someone with hardright
conservative jurisprudence, far, far away from what average americans believe. Why most democrats opposed his nomination at the outset feels like ancient history now, but let us not forget that most importantly, we strongly disagree with a number of judge kavanaughs views. Hes deeply skeptical of unenumerated rights, including a womans right to make fundamentally private decisions about her medical care. Hes deeply skeptical of the governments role in protecting americans with preexisting conditions. Hes deeply skeptical of nearly all rules and regulations that protect consumers, workers, the environment. And the Flashing Red Light Warning Sign at the center of judge kavanaughs jurisprudence are his views on executive power
and accountability. Somehow, this conservative judge and scholar of the constitution sees at the heart of american democracy, a president kum king, an executive who is unaccountable to the laws hes sworn to unhold. A Head Of State who while in office should be beyond the reach of subpoenas, criminal investigations, or civil investigations. This moment in American History demands deep skepticism about judge kavanaughs views on executive power. Nominated as he was by an executive who disdained the constraints of his office and who is at this very moment the apparent subject of investigations his Supreme Court nominee believes should be invalid. I met with judge kavanaugh for almost two hours. I asked him about all of those issues. His answers were constantly evasive and utterly unsatisfactory. It was deja vu all over again in the first round of hearings. When judge kavanaugh deliberately avoided talking about his views on roe, health care, president ial accountability, and more. There was no league reason, rule, or logic that prevented him from being clear and saying what he thought. He was evasive because he knows that his views are deeply at odds with the Progress America has made over the last century of jurisprudence and at odds with what most americans believe. His performance was not only unfair and frustrating to the senate, it was unfair to the American People. When a nominee refuses to disclose their views, chances are you have a nominee whose views are far outside the mainstream of america, whether they be far right or far left. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle may not have as grave a concern about these views as we do, but let no american be surprised if judge kavanaugh becomes a decisive vote to restrict the rights and privileges of the American People while stretching the bounds of privilege for the current occupant of the white house. Judge kavanaughs nomination ultimately does not only encompass questions of ideology or credentials but questions of character. Here again, judge kavanaugh falls woefully short of what americans expect and deserve in a Supreme Court justice. He has repeatedly misled the
senate about his involvement in some of the most serious controversies of the bush administration, including warrantless wiretapping of american citizens, our policy against torture, the theft of electronic records from democratic senators, and his involvement in the nomination of very controversial judges. Faced with credible allegations of various types of misconduct, judge kavanaughs credibility was again tested. And he continued to dissemble and even prevaricate about easily refuted facts. Beyond the issue of credibility, judge kavanaugh presented to the senate the bitterest partisan testimony i have ever heard coming from a candidate seeking the senates approval, whether they be for the bench or the executive branch. Now, there are many who think that what happened when judge
kavanaugh was 17 years old should not be dispositive. Even if you believe that, his actions at age 53 in terms of demeanor, partisanship, and above all, credibility, should be dispositive. Judges at every level of the federal bench should be held to the highest standard of ethics and moral character. Judges at every level should be judicious and credible and independent, but especially, especially on the Supreme Court. I do not see how its possible for my colleagues to say with perfect confidence that judge kavanaugh has the temperament, independence, and credibility to serve on the United StatesSupreme Court. So i ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, why judge kavanaugh . There is no dictate that you
have to march blindly forward with a nominee when there are others available to you. There are many judges who im sure conservatives would be happy to have on the court. I would remind my colleagues, the seat that Brett Kavanaugh aspires to fill was held by a justice who assumed the bench after one nominee was voted down by the senate and a second nominee withdrew his nomination. But the republican majority has pressed forward blindly on judge kavanaugh. Even when brave women came forward to speak truth to power. Why . For what cause . For the sake of winning . Thats not reason enough. My colleagues on the other side, if you have doubts about judge kavanaughs credibility, about his ability to tell the truth, about his ability to be impartial and nonpartisan, no
matter what you think of his juris prunls or what he may or may not have done in high school and college, you should not vote to confirm him to the Supreme Court. So, my friends, democrat and republican, for all the controversy, all the heavy handedness of the process, all the hyperbole and vilification of both sides, theres also hope that the senate can save itself. We can salvage some decency here at the end. If judge kavanaugh is rejected, President Trump will select another nominee, likely right of center, probably not to my liking, but without the cloud that hangs over this nominee. And we can proceed to consider that nominee in a much less bitter, much better, less
partisan way. A bipartisan majority of senators considering fully the weight of judge kavanaughs testimony, record, credibility, trustworthiness and temperament, considering fully the heartbreaking testimony of dr. Christine blasey ford, can vote to reject judge kavanaughs nomination and ask the president to send the Senate Another name. For the sake of the senate, of the Supreme Court, and of america. I hope, i pray my colleagues will do so. Chuck schumer, the democratic leader, the minority leader in the u. S. Senate, making the case against confirmation of judge kavanaugh as the new u. S. Supreme court justice. Were getting new information on
some of the four undecided senators who will either make or break the confirmation. Gloria borger, youre getting new information as well. I want to add to what dana was saying. These senators, including senator flake, still pretty much seem to be trying to decide what they want to do. We know that senator flake voted yes in committee, so hes not as much of a mystery perhaps as senator collins or murkowski. But there is this possibility that people vote yes on cloture, meaning move the nomination, and then decide to vote against the nomination in the end. I mean, youll recall, and we have all covered this, that this occurred during health care, when john mccain, for example, voted yes on cloture, but that was because he thought he could perfect the bill on the second round. Theres nothing here to perfect. Its just a nomination on a single person. I gotta go to senator mitch mcconnell, the Majority Leader. The stakes are always high for a Supreme Court nomination. But colleagues, the Extraordinary Events of recent weeks have raised them even higher this time. When we vote later this morning, we will not only be deciding whether to elevate a stunningly well qualified judge to our highest court, not anymore, not after all this. The United States senate will also be making a statement. Partisan politics can override the Presumption Of Innocence or well reaffirm that in the United States of america, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Well either state that facts and evidence can simply be brushed aside when politically inconvenient and signal that Media Bullying and mob intimidation are valid tactics
for shaping the senate. The mob can attack and the senate caves. Or well stand up and say that serious, thoughtful, factbased deliberation will still define this body. Well either give notice that totally uncorroborated allegations are now officially, officially enough to destroy an americans life or well declare that our society cannot, must not, will not set the bar so low. So, Madam President , today is a pivotal day in the Nomination Process of this excellent judge. But its a pivotal day for us here in the senate as well. The ideals of justice that have served our nation so well for so
long are on full display. So lets step back and sample a few of the choice moments that the senate and the American People have been treated to during the disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful spectacle of the last two weeks. The very night judge kavanaugh was announced as the president s choice, we heard the Junior Senator from oregon declare that this nominee would pave the way to tyranny. His audience crowds of farleft protesters, still filling in the blanks on their picket signs. They werent quite sure who the nominee was going to be yet. We have heard the Junior Senator from new jersey describe judge kavanaughs nomination as a great moral struggle, in which there are just two camps. Youre either complicit in the evil or youre fighting against it. More recently, we have heard the
Junior Senator from hawaii argue that her personal disagreement with judge kavanaughs judictud nominee meant he deserved less of a presumption of innocent when it came to allegations of misconduct. You disagree with her, youre not entitled to the Presumption Of Innocence when it comes to allegations of misconduct. Thats from a member of the Judiciary Committee . Thats the definition of due process . Apparently, you get due process only if you agree with her. And even more recently, we saw the Junior Senator from rhode island hold forth with great confidence, great confidence, offering his expert interpretations of goofy jokes in High School Yearbooks from the early 1980s. That was incredible. Many women live in fear. How do you think kavanaugh will make us feel . Have you made your final decision how youll vote on Brett Kavanaugh . I will be i will be voting yes on proceeding to the final confirmation vote, and i will announce my intentions on how to vote later today. Thank you. Have you made your mind up, senator . Senator, have you made your mind up . There you heard it, shell vote yes on this procedural vote coming up in the next few minutes, but later this afternoon, were told about 3 00 p. M. , shell announce how shell vote tomorrow on the final vote for passage. Lets go back to the Majority Leader. To public discourse. Before the ink had dried on Justice Kennedys retirement, our democratic colleagues made it perfectly clear what this process would be about. Delay, obstruct, and resist. And before the ink had dried on judge kavanaughs nomination, colleagues across the aisle, including democratic members of the Judiciary Committee were racing to announce they had made up their minds and were totally opposed to his confirmation. Mere hours after judge kavanaugh was nominated, my friend the democratic leader promised, quote, i will oppose him with everything ive got, he said. Hours after he was nominated. It was thus abundantly clear his goal was to defeat the nomination by any means necessary. It was right there from the beginning, Madam President. Clear declaration plain as day, nothing, nothing could get most democrats to consider this nominee with an open mind. It would be delay tactics, obstruction, and socalled resistance until the final vote was called. For a few weeks, their efforts
played out along the lines that sadly have become somewhat ordinary around here. There were excuses for delay. Those fell flat. There were gross distortions of judge kavanaughs record that were batted down by outside fact checkers. And there were all the usual Phony Apocalyptic pronouncements that are shouted whenever a republican president nominated a Supreme Court justice. Happens every time. Hostile to women, hostile to vulnerable people, hostile to workers, same old tricks, same old playbook. But here was the problem. The old plays werent working. The distortions were being literally drowned out by the facts. Senators received and reviewed more pages of Background Materials on judge kavanaughs nomination than for every previous Supreme Court
nomination combined. We read judge kavanaughs 12year record of judicial rulings from our nations second highest court, 300plus opinions. We heard sworn testimony, written accounts from hundreds of Character Witnesses from all stages of judge kavanaughs life and career. And the picture painted by these facts was nothing like the caricature. Nothing like the caricature. So it was clear, Madam President , the old tactics werent working. Wasnt going to get the job done. The resistance demanded more. Try something new, they said. Well, we all know what happened next. Uncorroborated allegations of the most sensitive, most serious sort were quickly sharpened into political weapons. One such allegation shared by
dr. Ford in confidence with the committee somehow mysteriously found its way into the press. Well, chairman grassley immediately sat out on a sober focused search for the truth. The committee collected testimony, organized a new hearing, and most recently asked for the Supplemental Fbi background investigation, judge kavanaughs seventh, seventh fbi investigation. By any fair standard, the facts, the actual facts, proved to be straightforward. No Corroborating Evidence, none. None. Was produced to support any of the allegations leveled against judge kavanaugh. No Corroborating Evidence from the fbi inquiry or from anywhere else. Nothing. Well, that wasnt enough for our
democratic colleagues, of course. The facts were not exactly the point, after all, we sort of get it by now. When the very fbi investigation for which they had been clamoring turned up no new evidence, the democrats moved the goalpost yet again. I believe the latest story is that the whole investigation is invalid. Now listen to this, because individuals who had only recently been told second hand or third hand about nearly 40yearold allegations werent treated as essential witnesses. Let me say that again. The latest story is that the whole investigation is invalid because individuals who had only recently been told second hand or third hand about nearly 40yearold allegations werent treated as essential witnesses. Never mind that they didnt actually witness anything. They didnt witness anything. So lets be clear, Madam President , these are not witnesses. These are people supposedly in possession of heresy that they first heard 35 years after the supposed fact. What nonsense. The people whom dr. Ford claimed were witnesses, they have spoken with the fbi. We know that because they, through their attorneys, put out public statements saying so. And what we know now is what we knew at this time a week ago. There is absolutely no Corroborating Evidence for these allegations. Same thing we heard a week ago. If they were, you bet we would have heard about it, but there isnt. So not withstanding that, the
leak of dr. Fords letter in violation of her privacy and against her wishes opened the floodgates. The Feeding Frenzy was full on. The weaponization of her letter by the left led to a torrent of other equally uncorroborated allegations. They were dumped on judge kavanaugh and his family. And breathlessly, breathlessly, the media seized on them, the more outlandish, the better. Americans were informed judge kavanaugh masterminded violent drug gangs as a young teenager, until that accuser walked her story back. We were informed that judge kavanaugh beat someone up on a boat in a rhode island harbor. Until that accuser totally recanted. We heard another tall tale of physical assault until that account was thoroughly debunked by a sitting federal judge. Oh, and yes, we were informed that juvenile jokes in his high
school yearbook were actually sinister secret references. Oh, there Keystone Cops were on the case. Keystone cops were on the case, Madam President. And Senate Democrats cheered them on. They read parts of this uncorroborated, unbelievable mudslide, mudslide, into the senate record. They cited them in an official letter demanding judge kavanaughs nomination be withdrawn. Were they true . Well, of course, that was quite beside the point. Quite beside the point. So long as they were convenient. Every effort was made to insure that the factfree verdict of the mob and the media would win out over the actual evidence. Make sure the mob prevails. But the uncorroborated mud and the partisan noise and the physical intimidation of members here in the senate will not have the final say around here. The senate will have the final say. So Madam President , were almost at the end of the runway. The cross of anger and fear and partisanship have blown strong these past weeks. They have harmed a good man and his family. They have tarnished the dignity of this institution, but all of it can end today. The time has come to vote. The Senate Stands on the threshold of a golden opportunity. We have the opportunity to advance the nomination of an incredibly well qualified and well respected jurist to a post that demands such excellence. We have the opportunity to put judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court where his distinguished service will make us and our nation proud for years to come. But we have the opportunity to do even more. Today, we can send a message to the American People that some Core Principles remain unfettered by the partisan passions of this moment. Facts matter. Fairness matters. The Presumption Of Innocence is sacrosanct. The senate has turned its back on these things before, Madam President , but never for long. And never without deep regret. This institution does not look back proudly on the era of joseph mccarthy. Nor on any of the other times when the politics of Personal Destruction poisoned its
judgment. No, no, the senate looks back on those things with shame. And with a conviction that we cannot go down that road again. We know the senate is better than this. We know the nation deserves better than this. By confirming judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, this brilliant jurist will be charged with upholding the rule of law and honoring american justice. We must hold ourselves to that very same standard. We must seize the golden opportunity before us today to confirm a Supreme Court justice who will make us proud. And to reaffirm our own commitment to the justice that every single american deserves. As a reminder all right, the roll call is about to begin on the senate floor. Very, very important vote right now to proceed. Proceed with the confirmation of judge kavanaugh to the United StatesSupreme Court. This is a procedural vote, but critically, critically important, with still some uncertainty whether or not it will pass or fail. If it passes, there will be final vote tomorrow some time on the floor of the u. S. Senate. Although interestingly, Susan Collins, the republican senator from maine, just said she will vote in favor of this procedural legislation, allowing a final vote. Shell make a statement later this afternoon, were told around 3 00 p. M. Eastern, whether or not she will vote in favor of confirmation. Were still waiting for more specific details from Lisa Murkowski. Jeff flake, similarly, we expect he will vote for this procedural vote. Joe manchin, the democratic senator from West Virginia, his vote is still very much, as we speak right now, up in the air. Dana, whats the latest youre hearing . The thing to keep in mind i want to point our viewers to the vote on the floor has started. This usually takes 15, 20 minutes for the roll call. Yes, and they keep it open
until the senators get there. The thing to keep in mind as we watch the vote right now is that up until this morning, we thought this was the whole ball game, that whatever happened in this procedural vote would be determinative of what happens with Brett Kavanaugh, but we cant say that anymore. The reason is because Susan Collins is the one who actually said shes going to vote yes now and shell announce later what shell do for the final confirmation. Glorias hearing that jeff flake may be in the same boat. We dont know. I was told that even up to this morning, wolf, jeff flake was making phone calls to confidantes, talking about the issues, talking about the concern, the pluses, the minuses around this kavanaugh vote. And that just tells you how much of a nail biter this is. Not that we actually need to say that, but those are kind of important data points and color about whats going on with these really, really important senators as they agonize over what theyre going to do here. The four senators, they have
to make a tough decision, because its either pass or fail. Is that the only option . Yeah. Its getting a little more complicated, as dana points out. We have to see how the vote turns out in another 20 minutes or so. But if youll recall, during health care and David Chalian has done some research on this, that collins and murkowski voted against cloture, against having the bill proceed to a final passage, and they ended up being against health care. But it was mccain their procedural vote was an indication as to where they were going. That wasnt the case with john mccain. Exactly, and john mccain voted for this procedural vote, because he thought he could get the bill fixed up and maybe he could vote for it, and then he ended up voting against the bill. Mr. Inhofe. Aye. Mr. Isaacson. Aye. Mr. Johnson. Mr. Jones. Mr. Kaine. No. Mr. Kennedy. Aye. Mr. King. Ms. Klobuchar. No. Mr. Kyle. Aye. Mr. Langford . Aye. Mr. Leahy. Mr. Lee. Mr. Manchin. Mr. Marquee. Ms. Mccaskill. Mr. Mcconnell. Mr. Menendez. Mr. Murkily. No. Mr. Moran. Ms. Murkowski. Mr. Murphy. No. Mrs. Murray. No. Mr. Nelson. Mr. Paul. Aye. Mr. Perdue. Aye. Mr. Peters. No. Mr. Portman. Aye. Mr. Reed. Mr. Rich. Aye. Mr. Roberts. Aye. Mr. Rounds. Aye. Mr. Rubio. Aye. Mr. Sanders. Mr. Sasse. Aye. Mr. Schatz. Mr. Schumer. Mr. Scott. Aye. Mrs. Shaheen. Mr. Shelby. Ms. Smith. No. Ms. Stabenow. No. Mr. Sullivan. Aye. Mr. Tester. Mr. Thune. Aye. Mr. Tillis. Aye. Mr. Toomey. Aye. Mr. Udal. No. Mr. Van hollen. Mr. Warner. No. Ms. Warren. No. Mr. Whitehouse. Mr. Wicker. Aye. Mr. Wyden. No. Mr. Young. Aye. Senators voting in the
affirmative, alexander, burasso, blunt, bozeman, burr, caputo, cassidy, collins, corker, cornyn, cotton, crapo, cruz, danes, enzi, earnest, fisher, flake, gardener, graham, grassley, hatch, heller, hovan, heightsmith, inhofe, isaacson, kennedy, kyle, lankford, mcconnell, moran, paul, perdue, portman, rish, roberts, rounds, rubio, sasse, scott, shelby, sullivan, thune, tillis, toomey,
wicker, and young. Mr. Manchin, aye. Senators voting in the negative. Baldwin, bennett, booker, brown, cantwell, carden, casey, coons, duckworth, cortez masto, feinstein, gillibrand, harris, hinrich, kaine, klobuchar, leahy, markey, murkley, murphy, murray, nelson, peters, schatz, smith, stabenow, tester, u doll, warren, whitehouse, and wyden. Mr. Sanders, no. Mr. Lee, aye. Ms. Hassan, no. Mr. Jones. No. Mr. Johnson, aye. Mr. Schumer, no. Mr. Donnelly, no. Ms. Heitkamp, no. Mrs. Mccaskill, no. Mr. Menendez, no. Mr. Reed, no. Mr. King, no. Mr. Van hollen, no. Ms. Hirono, no. Mr. Blumenthal, no. Mrs. Shaheen, no. Were waiting for the official announcement from the senate floor. It looks like this procedural vote, a very critically
important procedural vote, will pass narrowly, will pass. Susan collins, the republican senator from maine, votes yes. Jeff flake, the republican senator from arizona, votes yes to allow this Confirmation Process to move forward for judge kavanaugh. Joe manchin, the democratic senator from West Virginia, votes yes. Lisa murkowski, the republican senator from alaska, votes no. There are 51 republicans, 49 democrats, with manchin now voting yes to move this legislation forward, allowing a full scale vote tomorrow in the senate floor. It looks like they do have the votes to move the kavanaugh nomination forward. Lots of people are going to be analyzing this. Lets listen in for a moment. I think the official announcement is coming. Are there any senators in the chamber who wish to change their vote . As a reminder to our guests in the galleries, expressions of approval or disapproval are not permitted in the senate galleries. On this vote, the ayes are 51, the noes are 49. The motion is agreed to. The judge kavanaugh nomination now moves to the next and final stage, a full vote in the senate. Thats expected tomorrow. But this was a critically, critically important move. 51 49. The only democrat voting in favor, once again, joe manchin,
the democratic senator from West Virginia, who is in a tough reelection battle right now in his home state. Lets get analysis. Its dramatic, Susan Collins, as you first reported, dana, she said she would vote in favor of this moving forward, this procedural vote, but she was going to make her final announcement later this afternoon around 3 00 p. M. Eastern. How shell vote tomorrow on final passage. Thats right, and as this vote was happening, its probably still the case right now, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins voted yes on the procedural vote. Lisa murkowski voted no. Are sitting next to each other talking. They have been in constant communication, along with jeff flake as well, im told, but particularly the two of them because they bonded over a lot of things but especially their no votes on repealing health care last year. And the fact that they are talking, im told, is something to watch. Because senator collins has not
said formally how shes going to vote in the final vote. Neither has Lisa Murkowski, but if you vote no on the procedural vote, which is basically traditionally something that you do for your party, youre not going to vote yes on the final. Its hard to imagine her changing her mind. But well see what senator collins does. Im told that she has been up and down, round and round, about what shes going to do. And sitting there talking to somebody she knows and she trusts could have an impact on what she does. But 51 49 is as slim a margin as you can get. The only thing that would have been slimmer is if the Vice President had to step in. If it would have been 50 50, it would have passed because the Vice President is the president of the senate, he breaks the tie. But we need to keep that in mind, how historically unusual this is, for a Supreme Court justice, a nomination by a president of either party, to be
this to have this kind of drama even on a procedural measure, to have it go forward with this narrow of a margin. So the question now is will Susan Collins, jeff flake, and joe manchin continue to vote yes when the big vote comes up tomorrow. And joe manchin, if he broke with his party on this procedural vote, its hard to see him voting the other way. Back with his party. But you never know. You never know. Manu is up on the hill for us. Manu, you watched all this unfold. Yeah, rather dramatic scene. A very unusual scene on the floor. Senators themselves sitting and casting this vote. They usually reserve that for pretty historic moments. This being one of them. Casting one vote at a time. Now, Lisa Murkowski kept her cards close to her vest up until that final vote. She sat very calmly, according to our colleagues, lauren fox and Phil Mattingly who are in the chamber, they report she
just announced she would vote no almost expressionless as she did that vote. There was some discussion among some of the members, but catching some of colleagues by surprise. The question still remains, i was just talking to people in the leadership on both sides, what will happen on that confirmation vote. They do not know for sure if there are the votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, because of the very reasons we have been discussing. Is Susan Collins going to split her vote, essentially vote no on confirmation after voting yes to advance the nomination . Her decision to make this announcement later today raising a lot of questions that she may vote no. And joe manchin, did he just vote to advance this nomination . That does not necessarily mean hes going to vote to ultimately confirm kavanaugh tomorrow. A lot of discussion, a lot of confusion among the leadership on both sides because of the uncertainty right now of kavanaughs nomination hanging
by a thread at this moment. High drama here, wolf, as members try to grasp what just happened on the floor, wolf. And manu, just to be precise, they have 30 hours to debate and then there will be a final vote on confirmation some time late tomorrow afternoon, unless the timing changes, right . Because theres one complicated factor. Thats right. A couple things that could happen. If the democrats were to agree to not hold the floor as they plan to do essentially all night and begin to move and debate all day tomorrow, they could speed up that final confirmation vote. I would not count on that. But the complicating factor being steve daines, a montana republican senator who supports Brett Kavanaugh, is attending his daughters wedding back in montana tomorrow. Walking down the aisle with her. And he plans to come back if his vote is needed. So that means they may hold open the vote overnight until he returns, potentially early
morning sunday, if his vote is absolutely critical. If his vote is not critical, he may not be needed. This could all be moot if we learn how manchin and Collins Go One Way or the other. If there the two republicans defect, thats enough to derail the nomination, but if joe manchin were to vote yes, they would need daines to come back and pence to break that tie. So a lot of uncertainty right now. Well have to wait for the key moment this afternoon when collins announces her decision and we get a sense from joe manchin on what exactly hes thinking. I assume senator manchin will make his announcement at some point today. Senator flake as well. Lisa murkowski, she voted no, the republican senator from alaska. Gloria, youre getting more information as we assess. This is an historic moment right now, because it looks like hes going to be confirmed and become a United StatesSupreme Court justice. Hes 53 years old. Hell remain in the Supreme Court for 30, 35 years, and
well have an enormous impact on so many critically important issues. Yeah, im trying to get more information. I wouldnt say that i have succeeded at this point. But you know, were trying to figure out, obviously, if people could change their votes. Somebody like flake, for example. Somebody like collins. And also, what strikes me is the closeness of this. And our contributor, steve vladdic, sent a note to cnn and said there has never been a tie vote broken by a Vice President to confirm any federal judge, let alone a justice. And that may be what were about to see whenever that vote takes place, if you do get some people changing. I also think its critical that Susan Collins is going to announce how shes going to vote at 3 00, because what that has done right now, it appears it has bought democrats some time to go to jeff flake now and try to get jeff flake to eventually vote no. I mean, perhaps they can get him