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Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

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  • Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

    Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
    Brett Kavanaugh is to become the fifth conservative judge in America’s highest court, after being narrowly confirmed by senators in the aftermath of hearings and FBI investigation of sex assault allegations against him.
    In a chamber where Republicans hold the narrowest of majorities, all senators voted in accordance with party lines, with the exception of Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who endorsed Kavanaugh, and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, who voted against.

    Some screams could be heard in the gallery ahead of the vote, with Vice President Mike Pence calling for order to be restored.


    The result was not in serious doubt after a group of potential Republican swing voters confirmed on Friday that they would go ahead with President Donald Trump’s nominee, following an investigation by the FBI that failed to unearth evidence of sexual assault.


    The vote marks the end of the most fraught successful confirmation process at least since the 1991 appointment of Clarence Thomas, another conservative judge, who was also nearly derailed by claims of personal misconduct.

    Ahead of the vote, the Senate held its final debate. As they did so, anti-Kavanaugh protesters turned out in force on the US Capitol, many of them breaking barriers to access the steps of the building. Some were arrested.

    Many of the demonstrators held signs reading "I am a survivor, not a troublemaker," recalling the #troublemaker hashtag used by President Donald Trump on Friday in reference to protesters who opposed Kavanaugh's nomination.


    Despite weeks of pointed and tempestuous questioning by senators, Brett Kavanaugh, a 53-year-old Yale graduate, who rose to prominence as a member of Ken Starr’s legal team, which led the campaign to impeach Bill Clinton two decades ago, appeared set for a relatively straightforward confirmation.

    But an eleventh hour accusation in late September by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her during a 1982 school party upended the entire process, with help from the senate Democrats, who had held on to the allegations since July.

    The dueling testimonies by Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh in front of the Senate last week provided one of the most memorable and partisan political spectacles in recent American history. Liberals and women’s groups turned this into a referendum on dealing with unpunished past sex crimes, while conservatives painted the judge as a victim of an opportunistic smear campaign, ahead of November’s midterms.

    Kavanaugh gives the conservatives their first reliable majority on the nine-person panel since the mid-20th century, and though Democrats could attempt to impeach the judge in the future, they will need two-thirds backing in senate, something that is considered unlikely unless new firm allegations come to light.
    rt
    The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” Winston Churchill
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