Judge Brett Kavanaugh will get a final floor vote, after enough senators voted 51-49 to advance his nomination Friday.
Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines voted to advance the nomination, while Sen. Jon Tester voted against.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of four undecided key senators, voted against advancing Kavanaugh in a procedural vote, while Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, voted to advance his nomination. That does not necessarily mean those senators will vote the same way in a final vote, the timing of which has yet to be announced.
The vote comes amid allegations of sexual misconduct and intense proteststhat have divided the nation. The first floor vote on Kavanaugh Friday took place one day after Republicans and Democrats reviewed the FBI report detailing interviews about allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against the nominee. Republicans can only afford to lose one Republican, if all Democrats vote against Kavanaugh — but Manchin’s support in the first floor vote indicates that might change.
