Key vote to advance Kavanaugh scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday

The Senate is poised to take a crucial vote Friday on whether to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court as key Republican senators remain undecided amid allegations of sexual misconduct and intense protests that have divided the nation. The 53-year-old judge made what were in effect closing arguments by acknowledging that he became "very emotional" when forcefully denying the allegations at a Judiciary Committee hearing last week.

Susan Collins reviews FBI report on Kavanaugh: “It appears to be a very thorough investigation”

At least two of the crucial swing votes in the battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh have weighed in after an initial viewing of the FBI report on the Supreme Court nominee's background following allegations of sexual misconduct raised by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. In a show of support for her own own party, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that the FBI's work appeared to show the results of "a very thorough investigation."

Mitch McConnell sets Friday test vote on Brett Kavanaugh nomination

The Senate braced for a crucial initial vote Friday on Brett Kavanaugh's tottering Supreme Court nomination after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set his polarized chamber on a schedule to decide an election-season battle that has consumed the nation. A showdown roll call over confirmation seemed likely over the weekend.

GOP women in hot seat over Trump mocking Ford, vote looming

The Trump era has, at times, been uncomfortable for Republican women, especially the six senators who will be asked to vote for Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation by week's end. On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump ridiculed Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school - a claim Kavanaugh denies.

GOP senators await FBI report in anxiety-filled Capitol

Senators nervously awaited the arrival of a new FBI report on sexual allegations that could make or break Brett Kavanaugh's tottering Supreme Court nomination Wednesday as aggressive protesters and an unusually strong security response added to a feeling of high anxiety inside the U.S. Capitol. As lawmakers anticipated the report, expected as early as Wednesday evening, three moderate GOP senators who could decide the conservative jurist's fate rebuked President Donald Trump for mocking one accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, by mimicking her responses to questions at last week's dramatic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

FBI Kavanaugh report: GOP says no misconduct shown; Dems say FBI’s hands tied

A high-stakes partisan row quickly broke out Thursday over a confidential FBI report about allegations that Brett Kavanaugh sexually abused women three decades ago, with Republicans claiming investigators found "no hint of misconduct" and Democrats accusing the White House of slapping crippling constraints on the probe. The battling commenced as the conservative jurist's prospects for winning Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court remained at the mercy of five undeclared senators, with an initial, critical vote looming Friday.

Alicia Keys, Michael Stipe and other celebs will protest Kavanaugh outside the Supreme Court

Alicia Keys performs a tribute to inductee Tupac Shakur at the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. Alicia Keys performs a tribute to inductee Tupac Shakur at the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York.

Here Are the 5 Senators Who Will Decide Kavanaugh’s Fate

As Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's dramatic confirmation process lurches forward, all eyes are on five moderate, and as yet undecided, senators who will either send him to the nation's highest court or deal a stunning defeat to President Trump and the Republican Party by derailing his nomination. Their calculations were upended weeks ago when Christine Blasey Ford came forward to accuse Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in high school, which he has unequivocally denied.

Kavanaugh’s former classmates say FBI investigation is a sham

"I thought it was going to be an investigation, but instead it seems it's just an alibi for Republicans to vote for Kavanaugh." Former classmates of Brett Kavanaugh's have said the FBI probe into the sexual misconduct accusations against him is too restrictive.

FBI reaches out to 2nd Kavanaugh accuser, lawyer says

The FBI reached out to a second woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, the woman's lawyer said Saturday. Deborah Ramirez agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation into a sexual assault allegation professor Christine Blasey Ford made against Kavanaugh.

Democratic mistreatment of Brett Kavanaugh has united and awakened a sleeping GOP base

But some on the Republican side, most especially Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., felt there should be a delay in order that a deeper investigation might be launched into the allegations against the nominee. Included in the support for this maneuver were Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

GOP finally wavering on Brett Kavanaugh? First Republican calls for FBI investigation

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The Memo: Kavanaugh drama reaches fever pitch

The political world faces the most dramatic day in months Thursday as the controversy over Brett Kavanaugh takes center stage on Capitol Hill. Donald John Trump Avenatti: Third Kavanaugh accuser will prove credible against Kavanaugh, other 'privileged white guys' who defend him Grassley's office says it has received profane phone calls amid Kavanaugh fight Trump admin official once questioned if using n-word was racist: report MORE 's second nominee to the Supreme Court, now faces three separate allegations of sexual misconduct.

On Kavanaugh allegations, Murkowski sends message to GOP: ‘Take them seriously’

While her party's leaders are plowing ahead with their support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the key swing votes, wants the sexual assault allegation to be taken seriously. "It's very important to take allegations of those who have come forward, to take them seriously and I think we need to go into this hearing with the view that we will listen to Dr. Ford's story, we will listen to Judge Kavanaugh's response and then we will weigh what we have heard," the Alaska Republican told a massive scrum of reporters.