Senate confirms Kavanaugh
The 50-to-48 vote capped off a brutal confirmation fight that underscored how deeply polarized the nation has become under President
With Vice President
Trump nominated Kavanaugh in July to succeed retired justice
Senate Majority Leader
"I never thought
Before the vote, Senate Minority Leader
Schumer suggested several reasons, including Kavanaugh's temperament at a high-profile hearing last week at which faced off with his initial accuser,
"To Americans, to so many millions who are outraged by what happened here, there's one answer: Vote," Schumer said.
The acrimonious battle over Kavanaugh's confirmation is certain to influence next month's midterms, pitting energized female voters angered by the treatment of Kavanaugh's accusers against conservatives who see him as a man wrongly accused.
In
Saturday's vote broke largely along party lines, with one Democrat, Sen.
Murkowski asked that she be recorded "present" in a courtesy to Sen.
The margin was the narrowest for a confirmed
Leaving the
Trump said the confirmation process was "really unattractive" but said the weeklong delay for an FBI investigation turned out to be "very positive."
"He's going in looking very good," Trump said of Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh's fate remained unclear until Friday, when three
After the remaining votes fell into place,
Sen.
"They can grab women without their consent and brag about it," Murray said. "They can sexually assault women, laugh about it. And they're probably going to be fine. They can even grow up to be president of
Murray was first elected to the
As senators spoke in the chamber on Saturday, a throng of protesters who were predominantly women first gathered outside the
As the vote drew nearer Saturday afternoon, hundreds of protesters arrived outside the
There were chants of "the whole world is watching" and "vote them out" and signs that included "Kava Nope" and "We'll remember in November."
Many were standing outside the
Trump falsely suggested in a tweet that many of those who gathered were Kavanaugh supporters: "Women for Kavanaugh, and many others who support this very good man, are gathering all over
Ford, Kavanaugh's initial accuser, alleged that he sexually assaulted her at a high school gathering in suburban
Following a hearing that included testimony from both Ford and Kavanaugh, the confirmation vote was delayed a week to allow the FBI to conduct a limited investigation into the allegations of Ford and a second accuser,
Several
Sen.
"We do not want a system of guilty until proven innocent in America," he said.
In a new statement on a GoFundMe page, Ford said she believed and still believes "that it was my civic duty to come forward, but this is by far the hardest thing I've ever had to do, much harder even than I thought it would be."
On Saturday, Ramirez issued a statement saying that witnesses who could have corroborated her allegations were not interviewed by the FBI.
"Thirty-five years ago, the other students in the room chose to laugh and look the other way as sexual violence was perpetrated on me by
During remarks before Saturday's vote, Sen.
"We treated her the same way we would want our wives or daughters to be treated," he said.
Kavanaugh has served on the
A judge on his appeals court sent a string of complaints to Roberts starting three weeks ago, according to four people familiar with the matter.
That judge,
In a statement Saturday, Henderson acknowledged the complaints and said they centered on statements Kavanaugh made during his
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