Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice after divided Senate votes for confirmation

Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice after divided Senate votes for confirmation



Seung Min Kim, John Wagner
7 hrs ago

















Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice after divided Senate votes for confirmation 



Video by The Associated Press

The Senate confirmed Brett M. Kavanaugh as the 114th Supreme Court justice on Saturday by one of the narrowest margins in history amid mass protests, ending a vitriolic battle over his nomination and solidifying a conservative majority on the court.

As a throng of angry demonstrators stood on the steps of the Capitol, the Senate finalized on a near party-line vote of 50 to 48 what will certainly be one of President ’s most enduring legacies: two Supreme Court justices in two years in an increasingly polarized nation.

The brutal confirmation fight is likely to have far-reaching implications in next month’s midterm elections. Republicans are confronting an electrified Democratic base led by women infuriated by the treatment of Christine Blasey Ford, who detailed in emotional testimony her allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both were teenagers. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.

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Yet Republicans say the battle to get Kavanaugh confirmed — in the face of Democratic opposition and the “mob” of anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who flooded the Capitol in recent days — only motivated a fractured GOP electorate on a singularly unifying issue for conservatives: the federal judiciary.

“It’s been a great political gift for us. The tactics have energized our base,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an interview Saturday with The Washington Post. “I want to thank the mob, because they’ve done the one thing we were having trouble doing, which was energizing our base.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) delivered a message “to so many millions who are outraged by what happened here . . . vote.”

Kavanaugh heads to the Supreme Court significantly scarred from the confirmation fight, which had the echoes of the 1991 battle over now-Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by law professor Anita Hill and defended himself in an emotional, high-stakes congressional hearing.

Already, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has received more than a dozen complaints of judicial misconduct against Kavanaugh but is not referring them for investigation for the time being. And in a joint appearance on Friday night at Princeton University, their shared alma mater, Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor raised concerns about how the bitter partisan battle over Kavanaugh will affect the court’s reputation.

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Slide 1 of 90: Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy as his wife Ashley holds the bible and his daughters Liza and Margaret look on in a handout photo provided by the U.S. Supreme Court and taken at the Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018.

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1/90 SLIDES  Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/Handout/Reuters  


After a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court on Sept. 28, after agreeing to a late call from Sen. Flake for a one week investigation into sexual assault allegation against the high court nominee.
(Pictured) Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by retired Justice Anthony M. Kennedy as his wife Ashley holds the bible and his daughters Liza and Margaret look on in a handout photo provided by the U.S. Supreme Court and taken at the Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., on Oct. 6.

2/90 SLIDES  Jose Luis Magana/AFP/Getty Images


Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, speaks during a news conference following the confirmation vote of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on Oct. 6.

3/90 SLIDES  Jonathan Ernst/Reuters


U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) talks to reporters after the U.S. Senate confirmed the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 6.

4/90 SLIDES  Senate TV/Reuters


A still image taken from video of the final tally of votes by the US Senate on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, on Oct. 6 in Washington.

5/90 SLIDES  Yuri Gripas/Reuters


US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) smiles as he discusses the confirmation vote for US Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh as he exits the Senate floor on Capitol Hill on Oct. 6 in Washington.

6/90 SLIDES  APTN/AP Photo


Vice President Mike Pence calls for the Sergeant at Arms to restore order in the Senate gallery as a protester yells during the start of the vote for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, on Oct. 6 in Washington.

7/90 SLIDES  Alex Brandon/AP Photo


Activists demonstrate in the plaza of the East Front of the US Capitol to protest the confirmation vote of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Oct. 6 in Washington.

8/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP


After a flurry of last-minute negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court on Sept. 28,  after agreeing to a late call from Sen. Flake for a one week investigation into sexual assault allegation against the high court nominee.
(Pictured) Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., walks out of the anteroom during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

9/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP


Senate Judiciary Committee members Sen. Cory Booker, D.-N.J., top left, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., right, talk as Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., discussed his concerns before the committee, on Sept.. 28, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., are seated.

10/90 SLIDES  ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty Images


Demonstrators protesting against Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court lissetn to Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (center L), Kamala Harris (D-CA) (C), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) (center R) in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2018.

11/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wells up with tears, as she speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to vote on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

12/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo


Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), right, steps out to speak to a group of Democratic members of the committee that walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

13/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo


Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) looks past empty seats after Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of the meeting, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

14/90 SLIDES  Mary F. Calvert/Reuters


Democrat Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) walk out of the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to vote on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh on Sept. 28 in Washington.

15/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Female members of Congress stand in protest as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet to vote on the nomination of judge Brett Kavanaugh to be a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

16/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) holds up a letter from Mark Judge, longtime friend of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as members of the Judiciary Committee meet to vote on the nomination of Kavanaugh, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

17/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) looks over at ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet to vote on the nomination of judge Brett Kavanaugh, on Sept. 28 on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

18/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Pool Image via AP


Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., makes a point during a hearing with Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate Justice Committee hearing, on Sept. 27 in Washington, D.C.

19/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Christine Blasey Ford, center, is sworn in before testifying at the Senate Judiciary Committee with her attorneys Debra Katz, left, and Michael Bromwich, right, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.
A professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland. In prepared remarks, Ford said, "I don't have all the answers, and I don't remember as much as I would like to. But the details about that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget. They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult."

20/90 SLIDES  Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/POOL/Getty Images


Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, focusing on allegations of sexual assault by Kavanaugh against Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s.

21/90 SLIDES  Michael Reynolds/Pool/Reuters


Christine Blasey Ford reacts as she speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

22/90 SLIDES  Gabriella Demczuk/AFP/Getty Images


Senator Patrick Leahy (L) points to a yearbook page from Brett Kavanaugh's yearbook as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Sept. 27.

23/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27. 

24/90 SLIDES  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images


Actress Alyssa Milano (R) listens to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he testifies before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

25/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Pool via AP Photos


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh pauses as he testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

26/90 SLIDES  Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Pool via AP Photos


Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's parents, Edward Kavanaugh and Martha Kavanaugh, watch as Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary committee, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

27/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Pool/Getty Images


Ashley Kavanaugh listens to her husband, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27, 2018, in Washington. Kavanaugh was called back to testify about claims by Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland.

28/90 SLIDES  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh arrives to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 27, 2018. Kavanaugh stridently rejected the allegations of sexual abuse by Blasey Ford and two other women in prepared remarks.

29/90 SLIDES  Carolyn Kaster/AP Photos


Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 27, 2018.

30/90 SLIDES  Gabriella Demczuk/Pool/Reuters


Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Charles Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein discuss with aids as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing for Christine Blasey Ford about sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 27, 2018.

31/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington. A professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland.

32/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) listens to testimony from Christine Blasey Ford in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27, 2018 in Washington. A professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland.

33/90 SLIDES  Andrew Harnik/AP Photos


Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., cries as Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.

34/90 SLIDES  Tom Williams/Pool Image/AP Photos


Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., listen as Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept, 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

35/90 SLIDES  Scott Olson/Getty Images


Patrons watch the television at the Billy Goat Tavern during the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill where professor Christine Blasey Ford was testifying about being sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 27, 2018 in Chicago. Ford has accused Kavanaugh of pinning her down and attempting to rape her when they were both teens.

36/90 SLIDES  Tom Williams/Pool Image/AP Photos


Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., listen as Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thursday, Sept, 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

37/90 SLIDES  Spencer Platt/Getty Images


A woman becomes emotional while listening to stories of sexual violence at a protest against the confirmation of Republican Supreme court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh outside of Democratic Senator Chuck SchumerÕs office on the afternoon that the nation is watching Professor Christine Blasey Ford testify against Kavanaugh on Sept. 27, 2018 in New York. As people around the country watched, Ford gave emotional testimony about the alleged sexual assault before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. Kavanaugh has strongly denied all of the sexual misconduct allegations against him and is to be questioned separately at the same hearing later in the day. The protesters were to deliver a letter of thanks to SchumerÕs office for his vote against Kavanaugh.

38/90 SLIDES  Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images


U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) speaks before testimony from Christine Blasey Ford at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

39/90 SLIDES  J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a vocal critic of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over the sexual harassment allegations made against him, greets womens' rights activists in the Hart Senate Office Building as the Senate Judiciary Committee hears from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, his accuser, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 27.

40/90 SLIDES  Zach Gibson/Getty Images


Supporters of Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh gather in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

41/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) listens to opening statements before hearing from Christine Blasey Ford in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

42/90 SLIDES  Saul Loeb/Pool/Reuters


Christine Blasey Ford testifies about sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

43/90 SLIDES  Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images


Senator Dianna Feinstein (D-CA) Speak at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

44/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Christine Blasey Ford, left, talks with her attorney Michael Bromwich as she prepares to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol on Sept. 27 in Washington, DC.

45/90 SLIDES  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images


Rachel Mitchell, a prosecutor from Arizona, is seen prior to Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party 36 years ago, testifies during his US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

46/90 SLIDES  Michael Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images


Actress Alyssa Milano talks to media before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

47/90 SLIDES  J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo


Protesters demonstrate in the Hart Senate Office Building as the Senate Judiciary Committee hears from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

48/90 SLIDES  Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo


Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., arrives for the Senate Judiciary hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27 with Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

49/90 SLIDES  Chet Strange/AFP/Getty Images


Demonstrators against US Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh protests at the Hart US Senate office building in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27.

50/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel, is sworn in with other witnesses to testify on the fourth day of Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 7.

51/90 SLIDES  J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo


From left, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, confer on the last day of the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 7.

52/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


Protesters are removed during the fourth day of Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 7.

53/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


Protesters wearing black veils leave the Hart Senate Office Building on the fourth day of Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 7.

54/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo


Aalayah Eastmond, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, looks up after speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the final stage of the confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 7.

55/90 SLIDES  Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo


Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., right, questions witnesses that appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the final stage of the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 7.

56/90 SLIDES  Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo


President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, center, leaves the hearing room to attend a closed session of the Senate Judiciary Committee after three rounds of questioning of his confirmation hearing, on Sept. 6, in Washington, to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

57/90 SLIDES  REX/Shutterstock


Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, on Sept. 6

58/90 SLIDES  Drew Angerer/Getty Images


(L-R) U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) listen as Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 6 in Washington.

59/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


People wearing President Donald Trump masks take part in a protest against Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh in front of the White House in Washington, on Sept. 6.

60/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh organizes his desk before testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 6, in Washington.

61/90 SLIDES  Alex Wroblewski/Reuters


U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) listens before the third day of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Sept. 6.

62/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Code Pink demonstrator Tighe Barry is pulled down from a chair by a U.S. Capitol Police officer after he interrupted the third day of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Sept. 6.

63/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh looks over his hand-written notes while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the third day of his confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 6, in Washington, DC.

64/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Sept. 5, in Washington.

65/90 SLIDES  J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo


Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., joined at right by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., points to a chart to suggest that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would be a guaranteed vote for conservative causes if seated, during the second day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in Washington, on Sept. 5.

66/90 SLIDES  Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo


Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., left, questions Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, on Sept. 5, in Washington.

67/90 SLIDES  J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo


A protester disrupts the proceedings as Brett Kavanaugh, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the second day of his confirmation hearing, in Washington, on Sept. 5.

68/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Brett Kavanaugh stands to leave during a break in the second day of his confirmation hearing, on Sept. 5.

69/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee look at an email displayed on poster board while Sen. Patrick Leahy (C) (D-VT) questions Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 5.

70/90 SLIDES  Andrew Harnik/AP Photo


A poster depicting a 2017 quote on the Second Amendment by President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, is held up behind Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as she questions Kavanaugh as he testifies on Sept. 5.

71/90 SLIDES  Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images


US Capitol Police arrest a protestor as Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies on Sept. 5.

72/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Demonstrators dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" protest outside the hearing room on Sept. 5.

73/90 SLIDES  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images


US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh arrives of his confirmation hearing on Sept. 5.

74/90 SLIDES  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


The White House Counsel Don McGahn, right, listens as Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh answers questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 5.

75/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


A protester disrupts the second day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 5.

76/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in by committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to testify during his U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Sept. 4, in Washington, D.C.

77/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


Condoleezza Rice testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 4.

78/90 SLIDES  Chris Wattie/Reuters


U.S. Senator Ted Cruz speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh on Sept. 4.

79/90 SLIDES  Jim Bourg/Reuters


Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in to testify by committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Sept. 4.

80/90 SLIDES  BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images


US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh listens during the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate on Sept. 4.

81/90 SLIDES  Andrew Harnik/AP


Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jamie Guttenberg who was killed in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., left, attempts to shake hands with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, right, as he leaves for a lunch break while appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2018. Kavanaugh did not shake his hand. 

82/90 SLIDES  Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP


Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, center, listens to lawmakers speak during a during a Senate Judiciary Committee's nominations hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, on Sept. 4.

83/90 SLIDES  Mark Wilson/Getty Images


Protesters disrupt the start of the Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 4.

84/90 SLIDES  BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images


Sen. Kamala Harris(D-CA) speaks during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court, on Sept. 4.

85/90 SLIDES  Mark Wilson/Getty Images


Republican senators, including Sen. Jeff Flake (C) (R-AZ) listen as Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's appears for his confirmation hearing, on Sept. 4.

86/90 SLIDES  Jacquelyn Martin/AP


A woman stands and voices her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for Supreme Court, on Sept. 4.

87/90 SLIDES  Win McNamee/Getty Images


 Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh points to his family as he arrives for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building, on Sept. 4.

88/90 SLIDES  Mark Wilson/Getty Images


Democratic senators (L-R) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R-RI), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) huddle as Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh appears for his confirmation hearing, on Sept. 4.

89/90 SLIDES  Joshua Roberts/Reuters


Demonstrators dressed as handmaidens await the arrival of U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh prior to his appearance before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, on Sept. 4.

90/90 SLIDES  Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images


Brett Kavanaugh introduces his family during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 4.

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“We have to rise above partisanship in our personal relationships,” said Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009. “We have to treat each other with respect and dignity and with a sense of amicability that the rest of the world doesn’t often share.”

The tension surrounding Kavanaugh’s nomination continued until the final minutes in the packed Senate chamber, from which several protesters were escorted after disrupting the vote over which Vice President Pence presided. Over shouts of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and screams of “I do not consent!” each senator stood at his or her desk to vote — a move generally reserved for historic roll calls.

White House counsel Donald McGahn — one of Kavanaugh’s most ardent defenders within the administration — sat in the front row of the public gallery.

Kavanaugh, who received a congratulatory call from Trump, was sworn in at the Supreme Court on Saturday night.

Later in the evening, at a rally in Topeka for Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is running for governor, Trump touted the victory as a pivotal win for conservatives.

“I stand before you today on the heels of a tremendous victory for our nation, our people and our beloved Constitution,” Trump said, emphasizing the importance of electing Republicans to Congress in four weeks, given potential future openings on the Supreme Court.

“It could be three, it could even be four, it could be a lot,” he said. “And if you allow the wrong people to get into office, things could change. . . . You don’t hand matches to an arsonist, and you don’t give power to an angry left-wing mob.”

Kavanaugh’s name elicited thunderous applause, with supporters cheering, fist-pumping into the sky and holding up babies in celebration.

The two-vote margin for Kavanaugh was the narrowest for a confirmed Supreme Court justice since 1881, when the Senate confirmed Stanley Matthews, a nominee of President James A. Garfield’s. The vote reflected the divisiveness of the Trump era; all but one Democratic senator — Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) — opposed Kavanaugh.

Democrats were enraged by the nominee’s partisan criticisms in his Senate defense in late September as he cast the opposition to his nomination as retribution for Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 presidential election. They questioned his temperament for the nation’s highest court.

Republicans vigorously defended Kavanaugh’s character and fitness to serve on the bench and blamed Democrats for the tumultuous battle.

“Democratic leaders did everything in their power to make Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation about anything except his judicial record,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “When routine process arguments failed, they resorted to outright character assassination.”

Kavanaugh, 53, is a veteran of the George W. Bush White House who has spent a dozen years on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He was a top deputy in the office of independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr when Starr was conducting an inquiry into Bill Clinton.

His nomination was fraught with partisan tensions from the start, as he replaced Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee who nonetheless was a crucial swing vote on landmark decisions involving abortion access and gay rights. His opponents repeatedly warned that Kavanaugh would vote to overturn the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.

Much of Kavanaugh’s documentary record from his tenure in the Bush administration remains obscured from public view — particularly documents from his three years as Bush’s staff secretary, one of the senior-most positions in any White House.

But then his nomination collided with the year-old #MeToo movement when Ford detailed her assault allegation to The Washington Post. She said the assault occurred at a gathering in suburban Maryland in the early 1980s. Two other women have since accused Kavanaugh of misconduct.

After a hearing that included testimony from both Ford and Kavanaugh, the confirmation vote was delayed a week to allow the FBI to investigate the allegations. Republicans said the FBI report exonerated Kavanaugh, while Democrats argued that it was too limited in scope to be enlightening.

In a new statement on a GoFundMe page, Ford said she believed and still believes “that it was my civic duty to come forward, but this is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, much harder even than I thought it would be.”

Ford’s family had reopened the GoFundMe page to cover the costs of security, housing, transportation and other expenses.

In a reminder that Saturday’s vote might not be the last word on the accusations, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she will file a Freedom of Information Act request to make public the FBI report and other related documents.

After the remaining votes fell into place Friday, Democrats, in a show of defiance, spent all night making impassioned floor speeches against the nomination and continued into Saturday morning.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said that by confirming Kavanaugh, the Senate would be sending a deeply troubling message both to the nation’s girls and women — “your experiences don’t matter” — and to its boys and men.

“They can grab women without their consent and brag about it,” Murray said. “They can sexually assault women, laugh about it. And they’re probably going to be fine. They can even grow up to be president of the United States or a justice on the Supreme Court.”

Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992 after the chamber’s 52-to-48 vote to put Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, the last time issues of gender were so starkly highlighted in a confirmation process.

The Democrats’ speeches, many delivered to an almost-empty chamber, were part of their strategy of using nearly the full 30 hours of debate time automatically granted to senators, allowing them to delay the final vote on Kavanaugh until late afternoon.

As they spoke Saturday morning, a mass of predominantly female protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court, chanting “yes means yes, no means no, Kavanaugh has got to go” and “this is what democracy looks like.”

Several women detailed their own experiences with sexual assault. In the afternoon, the crowd numbered in the hundreds, with many wearing T-shirts with the words “November is coming.” They marched across the Capitol plaza to the steps, breaking through police barricades. Dozens were arrested, raising their fists as police escorted them away.

But inside, Republicans were lining up in defense of Kavanaugh.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who became friends with Kavanaugh during their shared time in the Bush administration, said he strongly believes those who commit sexual assault should be punished. But he said he also believes in the presumption of innocence.

“We do not want a system of guilty until proven innocent in America,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) delivered a blistering two-hour speech, starting at 4 a.m., in which he read testimonies from more than 30 rape and sexual assault survivors who had written to him after Kavanaugh’s nomination.

“I’ve received a lot of letters,” he said to a silent chamber, almost an hour into his speech. “I’m going to read more of them now.”

The sole Republican to oppose Kavanaugh was Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). But on the floor, she officially withdrew her vote as a courtesy to Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who missed the vote to participate in his daughter Annie’s wedding. The practice, called a “pair between senators,” ensures that the vote margin would be the same had Daines been present.

But Trump attacked Murkowski in a brief interview with The Post on Saturday, predicting that she “will never recover” politically for her opposition to his second Supreme Court pick. And the bitter politics over Kavanaugh’s confirmation is likely to continue in the coming weeks, months and perhaps years.

“In my view, the biggest losers are the people sitting over there in that court,” said Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). “This is a partisan Supreme Court . . . and they’re the ones that are going to have to try to make it nonpartisan, because we can’t do it at this point.”



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