Watch Live: Senate Votes To Confirm Kavanaugh

Update: The drama of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s ascent to the US Supreme Court is finally over, when in a 50-48 vote which took place without any last minute surprises, the US Senate confirmed Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court.

Feed will rerun here

Additional UPDATES below this post.

WATCH LIVE: President Trump rally in Topeka, Kansas after Kavanaugh confirmation

via ZeroHedge

Having secured the crucial endorsement of GOP swing vote Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Senate now votes to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, after the embattled Judge finally secured the necessary votes to become the next Associate Justice.

Kavanaugh overcame allegations of sexual assault in the early 1980s – ranging from groping to “gang bang mastermind.” The claims were levied against Kavanaugh at the 11th hour, following several weeks of testimony to vet the highly accomplished Supreme Court nominee – President Trump’s second after Justice Neil Gorsuch.

With Kavanaugh’s ascension to the highest court in the land, liberals have raised concerns that a firmly conservative Supreme Court may roll back abortion rights, outlaw affirmative action, protect religious rights and limit federal regulatory power.

Kavanaugh’s work on a federal appeals court suggests he will align with his four fellow Republican appointees in ideologically divisive cases. Kavanaugh will succeed the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s swing vote for the last decade. –Bloomberg

“It is quite possible we will have not just a conservative court, but an aggressively conservative court — a court that would not merely refrain from protecting civil rights, but one that may be poised affirmatively to strike down progressive state and federal laws and regulations for decades to come,” said Walter Dellinger, Bill Clinton’s top Supreme Court attorney

That said, Kavanaugh says he considers the landmark abortion legislation of Roe v. Wade as “important precedent” and “settled law.”

Also of concern to the left is how a decidedly conservative Supreme Court would weigh in over a presidential subpoena in the Mueller investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. The Supreme Court has never said whether a president is required to obey a DOJ subpoena to testify in a criminal investigation.

The USSC may also weigh in on pending appeals to decide whether federal law outlaws employers from discriminating on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, as well as Trump’s efforts to roll back deportation protections for undocumented migrants.

**********

This live feed is via ZeroHedge with our thanks at TLB for the coverage.

Up Dates below

As the nomination vote began, chaos briefly broke out in the Senate chamber after protestors interrupted the nomination vote, screaming and yelling as they were removed from the gallery that overlooks the chamber.

“The sergeant in arms will restore order in the gallery,” Vice President Pence, who was presiding over the vote, said as he banged the gavel several times to try to silence protestors. Protesters shouted “Shame on you!” and “I did not give consent!” as they were taken out of the gallery.

As CNN’s Steve Brusk reports, “Shouting at the top of their lungs, protesters yelling “I will not consent” are being forcibly removed. They continue to scream as they’re pulled into the hallway. At least 8 have been removed from the Gallery” while Fox News’ Chad Pergram notes, “a’ vocal and as disruptive a demonstration I have ever seen during a vote.”

---

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our main websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … TLB

••••

Follow TLB on Twitter @thetlbproject