Getty Joe Manchin voted to advance the Kavanaugh nomination to a full vote and limit debate.
Joe Manchin, a red-state Democrat, voted yes to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to a vote in the full Senate.
The vote was to limit debate, meaning Kavanaugh’s nomination will go to a vote probably Saturday. That had both critics and supporters watching Manchin closely as a possible yes vote to also advance Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Later in the day, Manchin announced that he is also planning to vote “yes” for Kavanaugh’s actual confirmation.
Here’s his statement on that:
I will vote to support Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
“From the start of this process, I promised my constituents that I would look seriously at Judge Kavanaugh’s record and cast my vote based on the facts I have before me and what is best for West Virginia. I met with the nominee for over two hours, attended his hearings, spoke with constitutional experts, and heard from thousands of West Virginians,” Manchin wrote in part.
“I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearings. And my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced any type of sexual assault in their life. However, based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him. I do hope that Judge Kavanaugh will not allow the partisan nature this process took to follow him on the court.”
Interestingly, a single Republican – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted “no” to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to a vote. Manchin was joined by other Republicans considered to be the decisive swing votes – Jeff Flake and Susan Collins – in voting yes to advance the nomination to a vote in the U.S. Senate. Cloture passed 51-49.
Collins announced later on Friday that she is voting “yes” for Kavanaugh’s nomination. With Arizona Republican Jeff Flake also saying he’s a yes unless something big changes things, that means that Kavanaugh would have enough votes even if Joe Manchin and Lisa Murkowski- the other undecided senators – say no. That’s because it would then go to Vice President Mike Pence in a tie-breaker, and he would also certainly put Kavanaugh through.
Cloture PASSES 51-49.
Key no vote: Lisa Murkowski
Key yes vote: Joe Manchin
Flake was the Republican from Arizona who engineered the last-minute delay so the FBI could conduct its week-long supplemental background investigation into the Kavanaugh accusations by three women. Kavanaugh has denied the accusations. Manchin is up for re-election this November in West Virginia. That is a state that President Donald Trump won by a very large margin – by more than 40 percentage point, in fact. He has a decent sized lead in the polls against the Republican, Patrick Morrisey.
Senators voting no on cloture is usually an indication that they are going to vote no on the final vote (which is why Murkowski’s no vote here is big). Senators voting yes procedurally could still vote no on the final. Meaning: All eyes on Manchin and Collins.
Joe Manchin was confronted by protesters on October 5, 2018, who demanded he oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Republicans Can’t Afford to Lose More Than One Senator
Republicans need every vote they can get, so the Manchin yes to advance to a vote has some Democrats and Republicans on high alert, especially as a result of the Murkowski defection from how her fellow Republicans went. According to The Hill, the math is tight. Republicans have 51 seats in the Senate, which is enough to get Kavanaugh through, but not if more than one Senator vote against him. If there is a tie, VP Mike Pence breaks it, The Hill reported.
Here’s how it boils down, though: Republicans need two of these four swing Senators (Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, and Joe Manchin.) If they get two of those senators in any combination, it would tie, but Vice President Mike Pence would break the tie and everyone thinks Pence would push Kavanaugh through. If three of those four vote for Kavanaugh, he is confirmed without Pence needing to jump in. If three of those four vote against Kavanaugh, his nomination is defeated.
Republican Sen. Steve Daines has a scheduling conflict for Saturday – his daughter’s wedding – but has said he will make it back to vote yes for Kavanaugh.
Susan Collins has said she will announce Friday afternoon how she is voting on the actual confirmation.
Democrats were focused on Manchin. Here’s some of the reaction on Twitter to the Manchin yes vote:
Lisa Murkowski is a no (!) on cloture vote…
But Joe Manchin is a yes.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation could come down to his vote. Over the next 24 hours, we have one job: to make Manchin vote no. Email, call, protest, signal boost, let’s make some damn noise.
@Sen_JoeManchin If you want to keep your political career going don’t you think it’s time you become a Republican? I personally feel that would be a very smart move on your part.
I hope the Dems do not support Joe Manchin on his re-election. They have nothing to lose!
@Sen_JoeManchin you need to drop the Democrat and go ahead and just be a straight up Republican. Disgraceful
NOOOOOO!!! @Sen_JoeManchin We can do better!!!!!!
Republicans were equally upset at Lisa Murkowski:
@POTUS strip any support for @lisamurkowski from GOP. She is a disgrace to our party, the Constitution, and the judicial process. She needs to be removed.