Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski defied her party today with a “no” vote at cloture. This is a procedural vote that allows Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to move forward for a final vote on Saturday. Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake voted yes.
FINAL TALLY: The U.S. Senate, 51-49, votes to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Manchin, Flake and Collins all voted YES on the procedural vote.
Murkowski voted NO.— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) October 5, 2018
Murkowski had not indicated how she would vote so this came as a surprise to many.
Breaking —> Murkowski, in a very quiet voice, votes no on cloture
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 5, 2018
While Collins voted yes today that doesn’t necessarily mean she will vote yes tomorrow.
A jittery @SenatorCollins announces she is voting yes on proceeding to the final Kavanaugh confirmation vote, and will announce her intentions regarding her final vote later today pic.twitter.com/VXofR0U2FJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 5, 2018
West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was the sole Democrat that voted yes to move the nomination to the final floor vote. This is no indication of what his vote will be tomorrow, but many believe this is an indication he will vote yes tomorrow as well.
