Washington (CNN) Senate rules and the expressed intentions of key Republicans have set the stage for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to ascend to the nation's highest court just days removed from his emotional refutation of accusations on Capitol Hill.

A group of senators remained publicly undecided Thursday evening following the testimony of Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a woman accusing him of sexual assault. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley indicated to reporters Thursday night that he intended to press forward with a committee vote.

Grassley announced on Tuesday that he was scheduling a tentative vote on the committee for the nomination for Friday morning, a day after the panel would convene to hear from Ford and Kavanaugh.

After Thursday's testimony, Grassley said, "We're meeting at 9:30," a reference to the committee's scheduled meeting on Friday morning.

Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake sits on the committee, which contains 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, and had yet to say whether he would support Kavanaugh after Thursday's hearing.

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