Victory On Cloture Vote In Senate 51 Yes, 49 No-- update: CONFIRMATION ASSURED
The U.S. Senate has voted 51 Yes, 49 No on a cloture vote just finished 10:58 am EST on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. A final vote on the nomination will be held Saturday in the Senate.
Hundreds of protesters are being arrested in the Atrium of the Hart Office Building this morning.
National Public Radio
Updated at 10:55 a.m. ET: Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court cleared a key procedural hurdle after the Senate voted to limit debate on Friday. A final vote on his confirmation is expected over the weekend.
Our original post continues:
The Senate is voting Friday morning on the first step to confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court following the release of an FBI report on allegations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh.
Yet there were several senators who had still not publicly stated their position just ahead of the vote. Among them was Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said she would vote in favor of moving the nomination forward, but said she would announce her final decision on whether he should be confirmed Friday afternoon.
update: Susan Collins announced in long speech she would vote "yes" for Brett Kavanaugh
CBS NEWS
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is voting yes on confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. On Friday, she gave a long announcement on the Senate floor to declare her vote and explain her rationale.
Earlier Friday, Collins voted "yes" on advancing Kavanaugh to a final vote. But that vote was only to advance to a final vote and was not a definite indicator of which way the she would go in the final vote. The Maine Republican is a key vote for confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Senator Joe Manchin announced in minutes after the Collins announcement he would be a yes vote also. Bloomberg news Washington reporter Sahil Kapur announced on twitter at 3:56 pm there are now 51 confirmed public votes for Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme court.