Brett Kavanaugh is now virtually certain to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Almost immediately after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced Friday afternoon that she would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) announced he would as well, making him the only Democrat to defect and back Kavanaugh. Collins and Manchin were the last two undecided senators. Assuming everyone votes the way they have said they're going to, Kavanaugh will be confirmed Saturday on a 51-49 vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the only Republican opposing Kavanaugh.
In a statement, Manchin said that he has "reservations" about the vote because of Kavanaugh's "temperament" and because of the sexual misconduct allegations against him, which Kavanaugh denies. However, while Manchin said his "heart goes out to anyone who has experienced any type of sexual assault in their life," he believes Kavanaugh is a "qualified jurist." He also told reporters that he does not believe it was Kavanaugh who sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford, as she testified under oath last week, per The Washington Post's Matt Viser.
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