Senate to take key vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Friday morning
The Senate is scheduled to vote at 10:30 a.m. Friday on whether to move Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination forward to a final vote on Saturday, and Republicans sounded either optimistic or slightly nervous they have the 51 votes to do so. Only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), has left open the possibility of voting for Kavanaugh, while three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) — have not said how they are voting. Flake and Collins appear satisfied with the FBI's report on sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh; Democrats say its scope is too limited to be useful, and Manchin said he will read more of the report before voting on Friday.
If Friday's vote is too close, Saturday's could be postponed. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) will be at his daughter's wedding on Saturday, cutting the GOP's margin to 50-49, with Vice President Mike Pence as the potential tiebreaker.
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