Brett Kavanaugh nomination: Victory for Trump in Supreme Court vote

But the Kavanaugh spectacle, fueled by extraordinary accusations and counter-claims in nationally televised hearings, and tense battles over an 11th-hour FBI investigation to address the assault allegations, has inflamed political passions.

The Twittersphere has spoken out in reaction to Brett Kavanaugh’s United States Supreme Court confirmation Saturday and that includes celebrities who couldn’t hold back from expressing their feelings about the decision.

Rice, the Obama administration national security adviser whose mother grew up in Portland, touched off a buzz of speculation Friday when she responded “Me” when another former Obama aide asked in a tweet who would run for the Senate in Maine against Collins, following Collins’ announcement that she would vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

Immediately after Collins’ speech, Manchin of West Virginia issued a statement declaring his support.

The first of them was Christine Blasey Ford, who accused him of assaulting her at a party in high school and later testified on Capitol Hill about her claims. She had said Kavanaugh was present at parties where she and other women were gang raped-an allegation that many Senators said they did not believe, particularly when she was represented by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who also represents adult film star Stormy Daniels and has clashed with President Donald Trump.

The 53-year-old justice’s wife, children, and parents were in attendance.

The outcome, telegraphed Friday when the final undeclared senators revealed their views, was devoid of the shocks that had come nearly daily since Christine Blasey Ford said last month that an inebriated Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a 1982 high school get-together.

A smaller group of Kavanaugh supporters also gathered. He said, “I believe he will rule in a manner that is consistent with our Constitution”.

Democrats furiously accused the GOP of short-circuiting efforts to examine the allegations and of rushing the nomination through, and of ignoring the changed political dynamics surrounding complains of misconduct against powerful men ushered in by the #MeToo movement.

“This is one of the reasons I chose him is because there is no one with a squeaky clean past like Brett Kavanaugh”. The FBI investigated the accusations and found no corroborating evidence, clearing the way for today’s Senate vote.

Law students from the D.C. area were among those protesting.

The upper house is split 51-49 in favour of the Republicans and the vote was largely along party lines.

Analysts said Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, would give conservatives a 5-4 majority on the court.

“Thank you for hearing me, seeing me and believing me”. That rare procedural maneuver left Kavanaugh with the same two-vote margin he’d have had if Murkowski and Daines had both voted.

Yet none of that was enough to sway Republicans to oppose Kavanaugh. “Thousands of Mainers are trying desperately to tell her that she needs to protect abortion access and critical healthcare coverage across the country by voting “no” on Kavanaugh”, Follayttar said in a statement.

“Women were outraged at what happened to Brett Kavanaugh, outraged”, Trump said.

A townhouse near the Washington residence of Republican Senator Susan Collins, whose backing for Kavanaugh helped get him over the line on Saturday, flew the flag of her home state ME upside down in protest.