Brett Kavanaugh vote - LIVE: Swing voters Susan Collins and Joe Manchin announce they will vote yes
Donald Trump tweeted he was 'very proud' of the Senate's roll call vote
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Your support makes all the difference.The US Senate is likely set to place Brett Kavanaugh's on the Supreme Court after swing vote Senators declare they will vote to confirm Donald Trump's second nominee to the highest court in the country.
Senators were provided up to 30 hours to debate ahead of a final vote on the embattled nominee, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by numerous women, primarily Christine Blasey Ford. However, Republican Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake as well Democratic Senator Joe Manchin have already said they support the nomination.
The final tally in Mr Kavanaugh’s procedural vote was 51-49, setting the stage for lawmakers to likely cast their final votes on the nominee over the weekend. Mr Trump celebrated the move, writing on Twitter, "Very proud of the US Senate for voting ‘YES’ to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!"
Protests still continue on Capitol Hill as women are openly weeping over the likelihood of Mr Kavanaugh's lifetime appointment.
Follow the latest news below:
Now that Mike Pence is no longer needed to break any ties, he is reportedly heading to New York. He is expected to return to Washington in time for Brett Kavanaugh's final vote, however.
Mike Pence has tweeted a message of support for Brett Kavanaugh after the Senate narrowly voted to advance his nomination.
The vice president wrote, “Today, a majority in the Senate voted to advance the nomination of a good person & a great intellect to #SCOTUS - Judge Brett Kavanaugh. We are grateful to every Senator who voted aye. Now Judge Kavanaugh will get the final vote he deserves. It’s time to #ConfirmKavanaugh”
Jeff Flake has said he will vote "yes" on the final confirmation for Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, as key lawmakers remain undeclared on their ultimate decision.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin remains undecided, but as his Republican counterpart and fellow undecided voter Jeff Flake was late last week, he was confronted by a sexual assault survivor in the hallway of the Capitol.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of two female Republican Senators protesters have been targeting to vote "no" on Mr Kavanaugh, said:
"I believe that Brett Kavanaugh is a good man. I believe he is a good man. It just may be that in my view he's not the right man for the court at this time."
It is not just women and female sexual assault survivors vehemently protesting the nomination of Mr Kavanaugh.
Several men have joined in on the protests as well. "We all see similarities to things that have happened in our lives...we've traumatised a woman in some way we may not have acknowledged because it was normalised".
In addition to Democrats and thousands of protesters, a retired Supreme Court Justice appears to also be in opposition to putting Mr Kavanaugh on the court.
A lifelong Republican, Justice John Paul Stevens said he thought Mr Kavanaugh was a "fine federal judge" but did not find him well-suited for the rigors of the highest court in the country after Mr Kavanaugh's emotional, often angry, testimony which included heated exchanges with Democratic Senators.
Democratic Senator Cory Booker summed up the whole of the last two weeks succinctly in a statement to CNN many Americans likely agree with no matter how they feel about Mr Kavanaugh: "This, I think, really has been just a painful experience for all of America."
Protesters are also joined by scores of law professors from around the country to oppose Mr Kavanaugh's seat on the Supreme Court.
The professors argue he has "adopted an explicit" partisan bias which he would take to a Court that is not meant to be so politically entrenched.
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No one is quite certain when the final vote is set to take place, but one Republican, Senator Steve Daines of Montana was in danger of not being able to make it to the vote at all.
Mr Daines, who hails from Montana, is attending his daughter's wedding tomorrow. The Senate has decided to delay the vote in case Mr Daines cannot come back before tomorrow evening.
Read more about the private plane set to whisk Mr Daines back to Washington after walking his daughter down the aisle.
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