President Donald Trump announced on Monday night that he’d selected Brett Kavanaugh, a judge who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as his nominee to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon-to-be vacant Supreme Court seat.



“Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said, followed by a standing ovation.

The primetime announcement came just 12 days after Justice Kennedy said he would step down from the bench, where he was widely—if not always accurately—seen as the decisive swing vote between the court’s conservative and liberal wings.



Judge Kavanaugh, meanwhile, has a reputation as a hardline conservative, whose presence on the bench will decisively shift the court to the right.

“Mr. President, thank you,” Kavanaugh, who was accompanied by his wife and children, said. “I’m grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me.”

Kavanaugh had been considered the frontrunner for Kennedy’s seat. The 52-year-old has served as an appellate judge since 2006, when he was nominated and confirmed under George W. Bush. He’s made a name for himself within conservative circles as a staunch supporter of gun rights, and opponent of abortion. Despite his frontrunner status, Kavanaugh’s selection had been in jeopardy in part due to his association with the Bush family, with whom president Trump has publicly feuded for years.

Judge Kavanaugh now heads to the Senate for confirmation, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already pledged to push though the nominee before the coming midterm elections in November. Democrats, meanwhile, have used the threat represented by Kavanaugh to Roe v Wade as their oppositional rallying point, using it to apply pressure to Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski for a potential “no” vote.



Update, 9:17 p.m. ET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is already going on the attack, saying a confirmation for Kavanaugh puts reproductive rights “on the judicial chopping block.” Kavanaugh, a Catholic, is talking about how important religion is to him.

Update, 9:41 p.m.: “President Trump has made a superb choice. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is an impressive nominee who is extremely well qualified to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “This is an opportunity for Senators to put partisanship aside and consider his legal qualifications with the fairness, respect, and seriousness that a Supreme Court nomination ought to command.”

North Dakota Sen. Heiti Heitkamp, who was one of three Democrats to vote for Neil Gorsuch, makes it clear that she could 100 percent see herself signing away the next thirty years to the fucking vultures.

“I have no doubt that many members of Congress and outside groups will announce how they stand on the nominee before doing their due dilligence and instead just take a partisan stance,” Heitkamp said in a statement posted on Twitter. “But that isn’t how I work.” Of course it isn’t. It might actually be useful to look at what Kavanaugh has done over the course of his career and think about it for three seconds!

Schumer, meanwhile, says he’ll oppose Gorsuch “with everything I have.”

Update, 9:46 p.m.: Here’s a good indicator of where Kavanaugh stands on one of the most important issues that could come before the Supreme Court, per voting rights journalist and expert Ari Berman.

Update, 10:08 p.m.: Hey look, it’s the only living president who might be worse than Donald Trump, just weighing in to say that Trump is doing a great job.

Update, 10:50 p.m.: Democrats are targeting two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to try to block Trump’s nomination. Unsurprisingly, both made noncommittal statements tonight.

One Republican who has spoken out against Kavanaugh so far is libertarian Rep. Justin Amash, who called the pick “disappointing, particularly with respect to his 4th Amendment record.” Amash doesn’t get a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, but fellow libertarian Sen. Rand Paul does. Here’s Paul’s statement:

This is a developing story and is being updated. </s> "A team player on the Team of Nine."

Given the drama and anguish of the last months in the Church and the country, the average American and certainly the average Catholic might be forgiven for having possibly forgotten about the impending confirmation hearings for the 53-year old Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. After all, there are the upcoming mid-term elections, the on-going investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and, of course, the catastrophic scandal surrounding Theodore McCarrick, the horrifying Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, and the letter of Archbishop Carlo Viganò accusing Pope Francis of complicity in covering up McCarrick’s sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

Any thoughts, however, of overlooking the hearings on Judge Brett Kavanaugh were swiftly disabused by the theatrics, shouting, histrionics and apocalyptic tone all within the very first hour of the confirmation hearing that began on Tuesday morning. More than seventy angry and shouting protesters were arrested and removed from the committee room, and all of the Democrat members of the Senate Judiciary Committee made repeated efforts to postpone the hearing by lodging unsuccessful procedural motions and interrupting their Republican colleagues.

While the anger and raucous atmospherics eased in the hours that followed, the tone and direction of the hearing had been made clear. They point to an ugly week of questioning and bitter division that reflect the equally divided situation in the country and the understandable political posturing of Democrats trying to rally their base two months out from an election.

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on July 9, to be his Supreme Court nominee to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. From the moment Kennedy announced his retirement in July, both sides of the political aisle in the U.S. Senate and the country set to work to bolster or derail the nominee. As it is, the Democrats have a tough task to stop the process.

Equally, The Democrat members of the Senate Judiciary Committee face the potentially insuperable obstacle in the mathematics of opposing the nomination. Without a defection from the GOP caucus in the Senate, the Democrats simply do not have the votes to stop let alone defeat the expected up and down vote on Kavanaugh that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wants by the end of the month so that Kavanagh is in place before the start of the high court’s new term in October.

What, then, is left to the Left?

The strategy of the Democrat minority in the Senate and on the committee is essentially the same that they tried against Neil Gorsuch only with greater vehemence, vitriol and perhaps significantly more ammunition.

Since July, the writings, speeches, opinions – both legal and personal – and background of the nominee have been subject to intense scrutiny. This is true for every nominee in the modern era and above all a nominee presented by a Republican president. Nominees typically are targeted ruthlessly by special interest groups, as Judge Robert Bork discovered in 1987 when his infamous nomination process ended with his defeat in the Senate. Since then, his name has been a verb to describe the treatment of would-be Supreme Court Justices. In other words, Kavanaugh is likely this week to be “Borked.”

The Democrats on the committee and their leadership in the Senate have already been trying this strategy. It failed conspicuously with Gorsuch, but Kavanaugh has one of the most expansive paper trails of any recent Supreme Court nominee. He served for more than a decade on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, five years as a lawyer in the White House Counsel's office in the George W. Bush administration and was a member of the legal team of Special Counsel Ken Starr that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998-1999. Democrats on the hearing’s first day were especially vocal in complaining that 100,000 pages of Kavanaugh’s background had been placed under Executive Privilege and that another 42,000 pages from his time in the Bush Administration had been handed over only the night before.

Having failed – as they knew they would – to stop the proceedings with procedural maneuvers, Democrat members on the committee embraced the Bork stratagem with great enthusiasm. One by one, they minority members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spoke in apocalyptic terms about the nominee. They focused especially on his presumed threat to Roe v. Wade, minority rights, financial regulation and especially whether he would be an independent voice against the ambitions of the Executive Branch and its Chief Executive, Donald Trump, whom they openly despise.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) already under intense pressure by the increasingly enraged progressive movement declared, “The impact of overturning Roe is much broader than a woman’s right to choose, it’s about protecting from governmental intrusion, who to marry, where to send children to school, medical care at end of life and whether or when to have a family.”

She was joined in similar rhetoric by the other Democrat members of the committee, in particular the liberal Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) who are expected to run for the Democrat nomination for president in 2020 and therefore are positioning themselves with the party’s left-leaning base. Booker has already declared that he will vote no and has called blocking Kavanaugh a “moral moment,” adding that “you are either complicit in the evil, you are either contributing to the wrong, or you are fighting against it.” In his opening statement, Booker called Kavanaugh a tool for special interests. "It seems to so clear that in your courts,” he intoned, “the same folks seem to win over and over again: the powerful, the privileged, big corporations, special interests. Over and over again, the folks who lose are the folks who I came to Washington to fight for: working folks, consumers, women, immigrants, minorities, the disadvantaged, the poor.”

Harris continued to question the absence of documents and Kavanaugh’s adherence to “deeply conservative partisan agendas.” She declared that she was concerned whether he would “treat every American equally or instead show allegiance to the political party and conservative agenda” and that his “loyalty would be to the president who appointed” him and not to the U.S. Constitution.

For the Republicans, the parliamentary and numeric advantage is dependent on their ability to hold the Senate’s GOP caucus against any pressure on some of their members to defect. So far, they have reason to be confident. The Republican members of the committee spoke as would be expected in support of Judge Kavanaugh, but they are adopting a mostly low key defensive posture.

When at last Kavanaugh’s moment came on day one, he was introduced by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who praised his record and his mind. "His intellect,” she said, “is unquestioned. His judgement is highly regarded. And I can personally attest to his character and integrity as a colleague.”

His opening statement was not filled with soaring imagery but, as throughout the nomination process, he ticked off all of the right boxes. He complimented his mentor and friend, Justice Kennedy, for whom he clerked. He described Kennedy as “a model of civility and collegiality. He fiercely defended the independence of the Judiciary. And he was a champion of liberty.”

Kavanaugh then said, “A good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy…I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.” He also noted, “If confirmed to the Court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine.”

As with the future Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh now must face absolutely withering attacks on his character, record, temperament, allegiances, faith and principles. The interrogation will be conducted by Democrat members determined to portray him as a radical threat to the country. As with all nominations, everything will depend on how Kavanaugh responds to the frontal assaults as well as the inevitable surprises and “gotcha” moments. With his long record of government and judicial service, he will face tough questions.

Ultimately, Kavanaugh’s seat on the High Court is in his own hands. The GOP members seemed content with Judge Kavanaugh’s opening statement, cautiously worded as it was. The Republicans know quite well that they can only run interference for him so far. It will be a nasty week but at the end of it, the Judge will be on his way to becoming a Justice or Donald Trump will have to find himself a new nominee. </s> The Senate vote on confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is certain to be close, even if the outcome is no longer suspenseful. Enough senators have indicated they will support him Saturday to put him over the edge, with a likely margin of two votes. That's barring a last-minute change of mind. </s> WASHINGTON — A deeply divided Senate pushed Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination past a key procedural hurdle Friday, setting up a likely final showdown this weekend in a battle that's seen claims of long-ago sexual assault by the nominee threaten President Donald Trump's effort to tip the court rightward for decades.

The Senate voted 51-49 to limit debate, effectively defeating Democratic efforts to scuttle the nomination with endless delays. With Republicans clinging to a two-vote majority, one Republican voted to stop the nomination, one Democrat to send it further.

Of the four lawmakers who had not revealed their decisions until Friday, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona voted yes, as did Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted not to send the nomination to the full Senate.

After the vote Flake told reporters he is currently planning to vote yes when the final vote occurs.

Lawmakers might vote differently on the climactic confirmation roll call, and Collins told reporters that she wouldn't rule out doing so. The Maine Senator added that she would announce her decision by 3 p.m. Friday.

That left unclear whether Friday's tally signaled that the 53-year-old federal appellate judge was on his way to the nation's highest court. Confirmation would be a crowning achievement for Trump, his conservative base and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Trump tweeted shortly after Friday's vote, saying he was "very proud of the U.S. Senate for voting 'YES' to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!"

The vote occurred a day after the Senate received a roughly 50-page FBI report on the sexual assault allegations, which Trump ordered only after wavering GOP senators forced him to do so.

Republicans said the secret document — which described interviews agents conducted with 10 witnesses — failed to find anyone who could corroborate allegations by his two chief accusers, Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. Democrats belittled the bureau's findings, saying agents constrained by the White House hadn't reached out to numerous other people with potentially important information.

The vote also occurred against a backdrop of smoldering resentment by partisans on both sides. That fury was reflected openly by thousands of boisterous anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who bounced around the Capitol complex for days, confronting senators in office buildings and even reportedly near their homes.

On the Senate floor, lawmakers' comments underscored the lingering bitterness.

"What left wing groups and their Democratic allies have done to Judge Kavanaugh is nothing short of monstrous," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said on the chamber's floor before the vote. He accused Democrats of using destructive, unwarranted personal attacks on the nominee and even encouraging the protesters, saying, "They have encouraged mob rule."

Dianne Feinstein of California, that committee's top Democrat, said Kavanaugh's testimony at last week's dramatic Judiciary panel hearing should "worry us all," citing "a hostility and belligerence that is unbecoming" of a Supreme Court nominee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the fight "a sorry epilogue to the brazen theft of Justice Scalia's seat." That reflected Democrats' lasting umbrage over Republicans' 2016 refusal to even consider Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia.

When Trump nominated Kavanaugh in July, Democrats leapt to oppose him, saying that past statements and opinions showed he'd be a threat to the Roe v. Wade case that assured the right to abortion. They said he also seemed ready to knock down President Barack Obama's health care law and to rule for Trump if federal authorities probing his 2016 campaign's connections to Russia initiate legal action.

But that evolved into a late-summer spectacle after Ford accused Kavanaugh of trying to rape her at an alcohol-infused high school gathering in 1982, when both were teenagers. Two other women also emerged and accused him of other incidents of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh has denied all the charges.

Under pressure from wavering Republicans, GOP leaders agreed to an extraordinary Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week that mesmerized the nation as Ford nervously recounted her story and said she was "100 percent" certain that Kavanaugh was her attacker.

A fuming Kavanaugh strode into the same packed hearing room that afternoon and said he, too, was "100 percent" certain the incident had not occurred. He angrily accused Democrats of a "search and destroy" mission, fueled by their hatred of Trump.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in before testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27. The procedural vote on the Kavanaugh nomination is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

The U.S. Senate will move forward with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be elevated to the Supreme Court. A procedural vote, called a "cloture" vote, on the Kavanaugh nomination is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m. EDT. If it passes, it could pave the way for a final vote as early as Saturday.

It's an important vote because it effectively blocks any filibuster attempt by Democrats to delay a vote on Kavanaugh and officially gives the Senate 30 hours to debate the nomination.

The 30 hours gets divided equally between Republicans and Democrats. The debate could take less than the 30-hour maximum if either party decides not to use all of its allotted time. Senators will take to the Senate floor to give speeches and make a last effort to sway votes.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who is a reliable vote for Kavanaugh, will be walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding on Saturday and will not be available to vote. That could lead Republican leaders to delay the final vote on Kavanugh until Sunday or next week.

USA Today will be providing live coverage in the player above of the Senate floor for the votes and debate on the Kavanaugh nomination. </s> Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court

Quotes on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court:

"There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving." — President Donald Trump.

"I believe that an independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate, I will keep an open mind in every case and I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law." — Kavanaugh.

"Judge Kavanaugh has sterling academic credentials. He is widely admired for his intellect, experience, and exemplary judicial temperament. ... And his judicial record demonstrates a firm understanding of the role of a judge in our Republic: Setting aside personal views and political preferences in order to interpret our laws as they are written." — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"In selecting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and health care protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block. ... I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same." — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Brett is a brilliant jurist who has faithfully applied the Constitution and laws throughout his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit. He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity." — Former President George W. Bush.

"I look forward to Judge Kavanaugh's public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to questioning him in a meeting in my office." — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a moderate and potentially pivotal vote.

"The Supreme Court will ultimately decide if nearly 800,000 West Virginians with pre-existing conditions will lose their healthcare. This decision will directly impact almost 40% of my state, so I'm very interested in his position on protecting West Virginians with pre-existing conditions." — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a centrist facing re-election this year.

"I will carefully review and consider the record and qualifications of Judge Brett Kavanaugh." — Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., another moderate facing re-election this year.

"I look forward to the upcoming hearings, reviewing the record, and meeting personally with Judge Kavanaugh, with an open mind." — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a libertarian who's privately expressed concerns about Kavanaugh's role during the George W. Bush administration.

"Judge Kavanaugh has a record of adherence to the Constitution and has demonstrated a commitment to interpreting the law — not making it." — Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., facing a competitive re-election contest in November.

"He would tip the balance of the Supreme Court even more against workers' rights, civil rights, and women's rights for decades to come." — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a potential 2020 presidential contender.

"President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be a rubber-stamp for an extreme, right-wing agenda pushed by corporations and billionaires." — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"He is a superb mainstream candidate worthy of the Senate's consideration." — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

"With a subservient Republican Congress and a far-right Supreme Court, there is a real risk that the worst impulses of the Trump presidency will go unchecked." — No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois.

"Sadly, the #Resistance is going to try to bork him by portraying him as a cross between Lex Luthor and Darth Vader." — Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

"This is a nominee who wants to pave the path to tyranny." — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. </s> WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump introduces U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his nominee to the United States Supreme Court during an event in the East Room of the White House July 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Judge Kavanaugh would succeed Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, who is retiring after 30 years of service on the high court. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775188136 ORIG FILE ID: 994988298

Senate hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that begin Tuesday are expected to be contentious as Democrats plan on grilling the nominee on his judicial record and legal philosophy. The battle has been controversial from the start since the nominee will be filling the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s swing vote on many key issues including abortion rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Democrats are complaining of lack of transparency, claiming much of Kavanaugh's record and key documents are being withheld from the public. “There will be sparks at this hearing. Sparks will fly," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. "And there will be a lot of heat.”

Tropical Storm Gordon expected to strengthen to hurricane as it hits the Gulf Coast

A hurricane watch has been posted for coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as dangerous Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to strengthen into a hurricane late Tuesday when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast with winds of 74 mph and over. Strong wind gusts, battering waves, above-normal tides, minor coastal flooding, flash flooding and a couple of isolated tornadoes and waterspouts will be the main threats from the storm, AccuWeather said. The National Hurricane Center also issued a storm surge warning, meaning possible "danger of life-threatening inundation,'' for the area stretching from Shell Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Kerry Perry, whose nine-month tenure as USA Gymnastics CEO was marked by heavy criticism and little tangible action in helping the organization recover from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, is expected to resign Tuesday. Though she preached transparency when she began the job, Perry's resignation, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports by two people with knowledge of the decision, was seen as inevitable — she made very few public statements and had no experience in gymnastics or the Olympic movement when she took over Dec. 1. Her expected departure will be the latest in USA Gymnastics after former CEO Steve Penny was forced to resign under pressure from the USOC in March 2017 for the way the organization handled sexual abuse complaints.

Students at Detroit’s city schools are starting the school year Tuesday with concerns about the safety of the city’s water. The school district shut off drinking water to all of its schools after test results found elevated levels of lead or copper in 16 of 24 schools recently tested. Detroit's water department and the regional water and sewer agency for southeast Michigan issued a statement to assure residents that the lead and copper contamination with water in the school buildings do not extend to the pipes that deliver water to customers' homes. The district will be providing bottled water and using portable water coolers at schools when classes start.

A trial begins Tuesday that pits relatives of about 1,200 dead people against licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to a Memphis, Tennessee, cemetery for three years after the cemetery said its registration expired in December 2010. The class-action lawsuit claims more than a dozen Memphis-area funeral homes failed to carry out their “sacred and contractual duties” for vulnerable, mourning relatives who expected their loved ones to be interred with dignity.Investigations revealed that Galilee Memorial Gardens' owners, the Lambert family, misplaced hundreds of bodies, buried multiple cadavers in the same grave, and crushed caskets to fit them into single plots for years. </s> The Senate is poised to take a crucial vote Friday on whether to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court as key Republican senators remain undecided amid allegations of sexual misconduct and intense protests that have divided the nation.

The 53-year-old judge made what were in effect closing arguments by acknowledging that he became "very emotional" when forcefully denying the allegations at a Judiciary Committee hearing last week. "I said a few things I should not have said," he wrote in an op-ed published Thursday evening. But he said he remains the same "hardworking, even-keeled" person he has always been. "Going forward, you can count on me," he wrote in The Wall Street Journal.

The op-ed, as well as a late boost from President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Minnesota, appeared aimed at winning over the three wavering senators from the slim GOP majority — Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — and one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has yet to announce his position.

Ahead of Friday's voting, Republicans emerged confident that an FBI investigation into the allegations unearthed no new corroborating details, they said. But a level of uncertainty lingered as Collins and Flake spent hours Thursday pouring over confidential FBI documents in the secure basement briefing room long after others had left seemingly satisfied with the findings.

Even without locking in support, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed ahead with trying to move Trump's nominee forward in what would be an election year win for his party. The Republican leader has little room for error with his party's slim 51-49 hold on the Senate, even if Vice President Mike Pence is called in to break a tie. A final vote is expected Saturday.

Tensions have been high at the Capitol with opponents of Kavanaugh, including survivors of sexual assault, confronting senators in the halls and holding vigil across the street at the Supreme Court. Supporters of Kavanaugh also turned out.

Trump said the protesters' "rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire at a level nobody has ever seen before." He was referring to polling that shows some improvement for Republicans heading into the midterm election.

Friday's vote is a procedural one to end the debate, and some fence-sitting senators could conceivably vote to advance Kavanaugh's nomination but still hold out their support ahead of a final confirmation roll call over the weekend.

Two of the undeclared Republicans emerged from the secure briefing facility Thursday accepting the FBI report as "thorough," bolstering GOP hopes for confirmation.

Flake told reporters that "we've seen no additional corroborating information" about the claims against Kavanaugh.

Collins also expressed satisfaction, calling it "a very thorough investigation." She paid two visits to the off-limits room where the document was being displayed to lawmakers.

Murkowski said she was "still reviewing" her decision.

Democrats complained that the investigation, running just six days after Trump reluctantly ordered it, was shoddy, omitting interviews with numerous potential witnesses. They accused the White House of limiting the FBI's leeway.

Those not interviewed in the reopened background investigation included Kavanaugh himself and Christine Blasey Ford, who ignited the furor by alleging he'd molested her in a locked room at a 1982 high school gathering.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, said while her party had agreed to a weeklong FBI probe with a finite scope, "We did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI's hands."

A hefty police presence added an air of anxiety, as did thousands of anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators. U.S. Capitol Police said 302 were arrested — among them comedian Amy Schumer, a distant relative of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, issued a statement late Thursday that said the FBI reached out to 11 people and interviewed 10. Six of the witnesses involved Ford's claims, including an attorney for one of them, and four were related to Deborah Ramirez, who has asserted that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when both were Yale freshmen. Grassley said the FBI concluded "there is no collaboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford or Ms. Ramirez."

Senators said the documents they examined totaled about 50 pages.

The underlying material from the FBI included text and Facebook messages, said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., including screenshots that "were very helpful" in understanding the communications between various people discussing the situation.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said nine of the pages were about Mark Judge, the Kavanaugh friend who Ford said also jumped on her while Kavanaugh assaulted her. Judge has said he doesn't recall the incident.

White House spokesman Raj Shah rebuffed Democrats' complaints, saying, "What critics want is a never-ending fishing expedition into high school drinking."

Barring leaks, it was unclear how much if anyhttps://tegna.lakana.com/ of the FBI report would be made public.

AP reporters Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly, Kevin Freking, Padmananda Rama, Juliet Linderman, Eric Tucker, Michael Balsamo, Catherine Lucey and Zeke Miller in Washington and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh officiated in August at the swearing-in of Judge Britt Grant to take a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

WASHINGTON – Brett Kavanaugh will bring a lot of baggage with him to the Supreme Court, adding to perceptions that the third branch of government is just as political as the other two.

Kavanaugh's 50-48 confirmation ends a tumultuous three months in which he was accused of sexual assault and lying under oath. He responded by accusing Democrats and liberal interest groups of a "calculated and orchestrated political hit."

For a high court that already features four conservatives named by Republican presidents and four liberals chosen by Democratic presidents, the addition of a justice viewed as partisan, intemperate or both is almost certain to fuel doubts about the court's legitimacy.

“The court relies to a large extent on people’s sense that it’s not just another partisan institution," says David Strauss, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. "It’s going to be tougher for people to see the court that way.”

Kavanaugh's confirmation was destined to be controversial. Two years ago, Republicans brazenly blocked President Barack Obama's third high court nominee and gave the seat to President Donald Trump's choice. Then Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement put the court's ideological balance in play.

From a list of 25 potential nominees, Trump chose the judge with the longest paper trail and the most political pedigree, someone who had pursued President Bill Clinton toward his eventual impeachment, then served President George W. Bush over two-thirds of his presidency.

With Republicans united behind him, Kavanaugh, 53, survived all that. For several days before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early September, he cited Chief Justice John Roberts in saying that when it comes to politics, judges must "stay not just away from the line, but three zip codes away from the line."

But then came sexual misconduct claims and allegations of excessive drinking in high school and college, which led to a series of embarrassing questions and evasive answers at a second Judiciary Committee hearing last week. With his reputation in tatters, Kavanaugh displayed a temperament judges are supposed to keep hidden.

"This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition groups," he said.

With that single declaration, Supreme Court experts say, he made himself – and, by extension, the court – appear as partisan as the White House and Congress.

“I do think that there’s going to be a lot of hostility toward the court in the new term," says Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. "The question is whether that entrenches the justices in their positions, or whether it becomes sort of a lever to moderate the court.”

Associate Justice Elena Kagan, speaking at Princeton University Friday, said increased partisanship would be a mistake.

"This is a really divided time," Kagan said. "Part of the court’s strength and part of the court’s legitimacy depends on people not seeing the court in the way that people see the rest of the governing structures of this country."

Clarence Thomas decried what he called a "high-tech lynching" during his 1991 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kavanaugh will be watched closely in the days, weeks, months and years ahead for signs of reconciliation or revenge. His behavior on the bench during oral arguments will be one clue, including how he gets along with the other justices on what he has called a "team of nine."

Despite the historically close vote, Kavanaugh isn't alone in emerging from confirmation with battle scars.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed 52-48 in 1991 after being accused by Anita Hill of sexual harassment in the workplace and enduring what he called a "high-tech lynching" at the hands of the Judiciary Committee. Thereafter, he went into self-imposed isolation from the media. He almost never participates in oral arguments.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito was confirmed 58-42 in 2006 after a hearing in which he was forced to say, "I'm not any kind of bigot" – a line of questioning that caused his wife to leave the room in tears. He has said he still avoids walking by the Senate building where his confirmation hearing was held.

"These confirmation fights leave lasting injuries for nominees,” says Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. Kavanaugh, he says, “knows that many people in the country will never accept his denials, so he will be forever an asterisk justice."

Kavanaugh warned senators at last month's sexual assault hearing that "what goes around comes around," which some took to imply revenge from the bench. His allies say the reference was to future nominations, not his actions on the court.

"Some people will never see him as legitimate or worthy of being on the court, but most of those people didn’t like him to begin with," says Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. "So at the end of the day, I think he’ll be attacked and supported sort of in the same way that Thomas has been.”

With a solid conservative majority now, the court will be watched to see if it moves the country that way or issues surprising rulings in the other direction.

Three years after the high court handed the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush by a 5-4 vote many saw as highly partisan, the justices issued two major rulings applauded by liberals. They struck down sodomy laws aimed at gay couples and upheld the limited use of college affirmative action programs.

“Some of the unfortunate perception that Bush v. Gore left with at least a large chunk of the American public was to some degree ameliorated," Vladeck says.

Along those lines, Kavanaugh will be watched for instances in which he sides with those who opposed his confirmation, rather than his conservative supporters.

Michael McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge and director of the constitutional law center at Stanford Law School, predicts Kavanaugh will change public perceptions "by acting as a judge the way he always has, and not how partisan opponents have tried to portray him."

Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe wrote in The New York Times that the newest justice should recuse himself from "cases involving individuals or groups that Judge Kavanaugh has now singled out, under oath and in front of the entire nation, as implacable adversaries."

That, however, is unlikely. Supreme Court justices decide for themselves when to step aside, and they generally do it only if they have a financial stake in the outcome or have been involved in the case at an earlier stage.

Former Supreme Court associate justice John Paul Stevens said this week that Brett Kavanaugh lacks the temperament to serve on the high court.

The anger Kavanaugh displayed in his second Judiciary Committee hearing wasn't welcomed by former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who concluded that he lacks the temperament to serve.

What remains unclear is how Kavanaugh's new colleagues feel. Many know him well: Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch clerked with him for Kennedy a quarter-century ago. Kagan hired him to teach a class at Harvard Law School when she was its dean. Roberts, Thomas and Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the same federal appeals court, though at different times.

“It’s highly unlikely that this is going to create a division on the court on some personal level,” Turley says. “The size of this court demands not just compromise but collegiality. It is hard to get anything done if you carve out justices you don’t want to deal with.”

Roberts, only the nation's 17th chief justice, will be watched closely as the keeper of the court's reputation. Coincidentally, he also moves to the center of the court ideologically with Kennedy gone.

“Now more than ever, the pressure’s really going to be on the chief justice,” Vladeck says.

One thing that could rankle the other justices is the likely presence of protesters inside the august marble courtroom, usually a place for polite oral arguments where even whispering is frowned upon. After the Bush v. Gore ruling in 2000 and the Citizens United v. FEC campaign finance ruling a decade later, protests proliferated.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if they ramped up security a little bit,” Shapiro says.

Ultimately, one test of the court's ability to maintain its reputation will be the reaction of other levels and branches of government. States and lower courts can drag their feet when it comes to implementing Supreme Court directives. Presidents can put pressure on sitting justices. The House of Representatives can bring impeachment proceedings.

“The long-term effects on the court might be substantial," Strauss says. "There are a lot of ways in which the court can lose its influence.”

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Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court is confirmed when a final vote takes place, with 50 senators for his confirmation and 48 against.