“But anyway, I’m glad we had a better process.”

Flake gave Kavanaugh a “yes” vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, with the proviso that the FBI further investigate the allegations of sexual assault made by Christine Blasey Ford against Kavanaugh and any other credible allegations that had been made public by that time. Several hours after the Senate voted 51 to 49 to force an end to debate on the Kavanaugh nomination, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) went to the floor to announce she would support Kavanaugh in Saturday’s final vote, delivering the key vote for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. In fact, the Maine Senator had barely gotten a few words out on the Senate floor when demonstrators in the Senate galleries interrupted her, yelling, “Vote no!”

The announcement by Collins gave GOP leaders and the White House 50 votes in favor of Kavanaugh – the bare minimum, when paired with a possible tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. The Senate is set to vote Friday morning on the first step to confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court following the release of an FBI report on allegations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh.
A cloture vote on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh passes 51–49. A final confirmation vote is set to occur on Saturday.