Chief Justice John Roberts administers the Constitutional Oath to Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his wife Ashley Kavanaugh holds the Bible while joined by their daughters Margaret and Liza, inside the Supreme Court. | Fred Schilling/Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images Kavanaugh Confirmation Kavanaugh wins confirmation to the Supreme Court The high court nominee was approved by the narrowest of margins, and sworn in hours later.

The Senate voted narrowly Saturday to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, a major victory for President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans that secures a conservative majority on the high court.

Despite weeks of allegations of sexual misconduct, backroom deals, dramatic hearings and rage-filled protests that pitted the #MeToo movement against Trump and the all-male GOP hierarchy, Kavanaugh was confirmed by a 50-48 margin. It was the closest Supreme Court vote since the battle over Clarence Thomas in 1991.


Only Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W-Va.) crossed the aisle and voted with Republicans.

Sen. Lisa Murkowkski (R-Alaska), who opposed Kavanaugh, voted present, "pairing" her vote with Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a Kavanaugh backer who was back home for his daughter's wedding.

Kavanaugh was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts and retired Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy later Saturday.

Yet Saturday's proceedings were anticlimactic after the Senate soap opera that came before. Senators sat at their desks and called out their votes of "Yes" or "No" on Kavanaugh, a bit of theater as everyone present knew how it would turn out. After it was over, Republicans shook hands, slapped each other on the back and hugged, while Democrats quickly left the floor dejected and angry.

A huge crowd of protesters gathered in front of the Supreme Court and on the Capitol lawn in the hours leading up to the vote, chanting anti-Kavanaugh slogans, but it didn't change the outcome.

At one point, a group of protesters ran up the East Steps of the Capitol and tried to enter the Rotunda but were turned away by U.S. Capitol Police. More than 160 protesters were arrested by the afternoon, according to a Capitol Police statement, continuing the trend of mass arrests over the past few weeks. Later, protesters gathered at the Supreme Court moved to the back of the building, in an attempt to intercept the car carrying Kavanaugh.

Inside the Capitol, the mood was calm, although protesters in the gallery frequently disrupted the Senate’s debate on Kavanaugh. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that outbursts like those and the attempts of anti-Kavanaugh activists to pressure GOP senators to oppose the nominee had backfired.

“The Senate’s really been under assault, by demonstrators, many of whom I suspect are paid and organized," McConnell told POLITICO during an interview on Saturday. "And at this point, I think it’s safe to say I should be grateful the tactics helped unify our side and get to the majority."

Saturday's outcome was never in doubt following Friday's drama. Manchin and GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced late in the afternoon they would back Kavanaugh, ensuring he had at least 50 votes for confirmation. Murkowski was the sole Republican senator to break ranks and oppose Kavanaugh. Another Republican holdout, Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), came out in favor of the nominee earlier in the day.



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Kavanaugh's confirmation is a crowning victory for Trump and McConnell, fulfilling a top campaign promise for the president and a paramount priority for the Kentucky Republican. Kavanaugh’s ascension to the high court will ensure a conservative majority for years to come, an outcome that McConnell especially has focused on during his long tenure as the top Senate Republican.

In the coming months and years, cases involving abortion rights, immigration, gay rights, environmental laws and voting rights all could come before the high court, placing the Supreme Court even more squarely in the center of America’s culture wars. With Kavanaugh in place, there will be a 5-4 majority on the Supreme Court that could prove decisive in those proceedings.

"The courts guard our rights. And the Senate guards our courts," McConnell said on the floor before the Kavanaugh roll call. "That is why today is such an important day. That is why the vote we will take this afternoon — a vote to confirm a new associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States — represents one of the most crucial decisions a senator can make."

McConnell rejected sexual misconduct claims against Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, who alleged Kavanaugh sexually abused them in high school and college. McConnell said senators "have now studied the results of seven FBI background investigations — inquiries that have produced no evidence whatsoever to corroborate any prior misconduct, but rather, are consistent with all we know about this nominee’s sterling character."

In an interview, McConnell told POLITICO that he wasn't certain what Flake, Collins and Murkowski would do until Friday's dramatic procedural vote, which allowed the Kavanaugh nomination to move forward to final confirmation.

“All three of them certainly reached an independent decision," McConnell said. "All I tried to do is be a facilitator to get them the information they needed in order to make a final decision."

McConnell added: "So when that came back they each independently reviewed the evidence, they made it clear to us they were going to make their own decisions, and they did. And even though I was optimistic before the cloture vote yesterday, I can’t tell you I was absolutely certain what was going to happen, because they each decided not to announce in advance how they were going to vote."

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) railed against Kavanaugh, Trump and the Republicans during his floor speech, laying out a case why the appeals court justice shouldn't ascend to the high court.

Schumer repeatedly used the phrase "Judge Kavanaugh doesn’t belong on the bench..." to punctuate his reasons for opposing the nominee: Kavanaugh's record on the bench; his "extreme partisanship"; his stance on numerous issues like abortion, LGBT rights, immigration and the environment; and his assertion that Kavanaugh "has repeatedly misled the Senate, putting into serious doubt his credibility."

But Schumer saved his most important point for last, stressing what he and his party hope will be the outcome this fight — an outraged Democratic base that turns out to make him Senate majority leader when voters go to the polls in a month.

"If you believe Dr. Ford and other brave women who came forward, and you want to vindicate their sacrifice: vote," Schumer declared.

Schumer repeated different variations of the same line another half-dozen times, signaling how his party plans to try to use the Kavanaugh scandal to their own advantage.

Indeed, the aftermath of the ugly Kavanaugh fight will play out in the midterm elections just a month from now.

Each party says their base is enraged and energized by the Kavanaugh showdown, with Republicans repeatedly claiming it has given their side a much-needed shot in the arm. However, Schumer has warned there will a serious backlash in the next few weeks among voters — especially women — angered by the GOP muscling Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court in the face of sexual misconduct allegations.

More investigations of the Supreme Court nominee are likely, however. House Democrats are warning that if they have a majority in the next Congress, they may investigate the FBI investigation into assault allegations brought against Kavanaugh by Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, focusing on whether the White House’s role in directing the FBI probe into Kavanaugh. Some Senate Republicans want a probe into who leaked Ford’s confidential letter to the Judiciary Committee to reporters.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.