Brett Kavanaugh confirmed, McConnell calls for end to ‘dark chapter in the Senate’s history’
On Saturday afternoon, following weeks of sexual assault allegations and political grandstanding, U.S. Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, 50-48.
Brett Kavanaugh
Just prior to the vote, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave a speech on the floor of the senate hailing Kavanaugh as a “meticulous and dedicated public servant,” addressing the final FBI investigation.
“…we have now studied the results of seven, seven FBI background investigations — inquiries that have produced no evidence whatsoever to corroborate any prior misconduct, but rather are consistent with all we know about this nominee’s sterling character. This historically tall mountain of evidence adds up to one clear message: Judge Brett Kavanaugh is among the very best our nation has to offer. He will make the senate and the country proud. He will serve with distinction on our highest court. He unquestionably deserves confirmation and the country deserves such a Supreme Court Justice.”
McConnell lifted a quote from Senator Susan Collins’ (R-ME) Friday testimony in which she said that “when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy.”
“We all know the events of recent weeks have strained the country’s comity and fanned the flames of partisan discord, but even more critically, our very commitment to the basic principles of fairness and justice is also being tested…A vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh today is also a vote to send a clear message about what the Senate is. This is an institution where the evidence and the facts matter. This is an institution where the evidence and the facts matter. This is the chamber in which the politics of intimidation and personal destruction do not win the day. This is the body whose members themselves uphold the same commitment to American justice that we seek in the judges we examine.”
He concluded: “A vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh today is a vote to end this brief, dark chapter in the Senate’s history and turn the page toward a brighter tomorrow.”
The vote was down party lines with only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin crossing party lines to vote for Kavanaugh.
