Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee will vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, he announced Thursday.

Corker’s announcement comes after an emotionally charged hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which the panel’s 21 members heard testimony from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982.

Kavanaugh categorically denied the allegation.

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“I know it took courage for Dr. Ford to appear before the committee today. I also very strongly believe that Judge Kavanaugh, like all Americans, deserves the presumption of innocence and that it was equally as important for him to have the opportunity to address the charges and defend himself,” Corker said in a statement.

Corker said there is “no question” that Kavanaugh is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.

“And in a different political environment, he would be confirmed overwhelmingly,” he said. “I believe Judge Kavanaugh has conducted himself as well as anyone could expect throughout this process and plan to vote to confirm him.”

Ford’s testimony before the committee marked the first time she spoke publicly about her allegation against Kavanaugh, and she delivered an emotional opening statement during which she recounted the details of the alleged encounter with Kavanaugh.

Ford alleged that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to undress her during a party at a Maryland house in 1982.

But Kavanaugh told the committee his own competing version of events, which he said he categorically did not participate in.

“I swear today under oath before the Senate and the nation, before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge,” he said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday, and the Senate is set to hold a procedural vote Saturday.

