Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Friday said she would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, ending months of speculation from the crucial swing senator.
"Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh," Collins said at the very end of a nearly 45-minute long speech on the Senate floor.
Collins revealed her decision Friday afternoon, hours after a key procedural vote in the confirmation process.
Collins voted to advance Kavanaugh's nomination in the 51-49 vote, which saw divisions largely along party lines. The only exceptions were Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted no, and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, who voted yes.
Collins' remarks on the Senate floor Friday afternoon, scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET, were initially delayed after protestors began shouting in the Senate gallery, chanting "Vote No! Show up for Maine women!"
She began her lengthy speech by tearing into the hyper-politicized nomination process, calling it a "caricature of a gutter-level political campaign."
She also distanced herself in the speech from the partisan cloud hanging over Kavanaugh.
"I've never considered the president's identity or party when evaluating Supreme Court nominations," she said, noting that she had voted for nominees appointed by presidents of both major parties.
Collins has held her decision on Kavanaugh's candidacy close to the vest throughout the nomination process. But she has not always kept silent on her opinion of the judge and the other political leaders involved in the process.
Her view of Kavanaugh appeared to lean in his favor in August after her one-on-one meeting with the appellate judge. The moderate senator from Maine, who is pro-choice, told reporters that Kavanaugh assured that he viewed Roe v. Wade — the perennially controversial abortion ruling — as "settled law."
But after Kavanaugh was accused of past sexual misconduct by multiple women in mid-September, Collins was circumspect. "I don't know enough to make a judgment at this point," she told reporters at the time.
And she criticized President Donald Trump after he mocked one of Kavanaugh's accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, at a rally following her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trump's derisive imitation of the testimony was "just plain wrong," Collins said.
Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegations against him.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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