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The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate advances Kavanaugh nomination in key vote| Final vote expected Saturday| Murkowski, Manchin break ranks on procedural vote| Swing vote Collins to announce final decision at 3 p.m.| Trump calls protesters ‘paid professionals’ | Kavanaugh defends ’emotional’ testimony in op-ed| Legal obstacles to pursuing tax charges against Trump| Jobless rate at 49 year low
BREAKING
The Senate voted to end debate and move to the final vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination:
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh just cleared a key hurdle, which sets up his nomination for a final vote Saturday afternoon. http://bit.ly/2pEs9Qw
Today’s cloture vote: 51-49
The gist: Today’s vote was to decide whether to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to a final Senate floor vote. I.e.: Senators expected to oppose Kavanaugh voted against advancing his nomination.
But keep in mind about today’s cloture vote: “Senators sometimes vote to bring debate to a close… and then vote another way later on the underlying issue. Yet, on other occasions, the cloture vote can predictive of how the final vote may go.” http://bit.ly/2yj3WD9
THE SWING VOTES WE’VE BEEN WATCHING — HAVE ANNOUNCED DECISIONS:
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.): Flake just announced he is voting ‘yes’ on Kavanaugh. http://bit.ly/2DZWe7d
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N. D.): Heitkamp is a no. http://bit.ly/2PaArLa
THE SWING VOTES WE’VE BEEN WATCHING — HAVEN’T ANNOUNCED YET:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.): Murkowski just said: “[I] took the very, very difficult vote that I did. I believe that Brett Kavanaugh is a good man. I believe he is a good man it just may be that in my view he’s not the right man for the court at this time.” Keep in mind: Murkowski was the only Republican to vote with Democrats as a ‘no’ on the cloture vote to end debate. http://bit.ly/2NqZrfd
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — announcing at 3 p.m.: She voted ‘yes’ in the cloture vote to end debate. Collins’s final vote is still a mystery: Collins will announce her final decision on Kavanaugh during a 3 p.m. speech on the Senate floor. http://bit.ly/2DZ2L1L
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.): Manchin voted ‘yes’ in the cloture vote to end debate, but hasn’t announced his final vote.
What it comes down to: If Manchin and Collins both vote ‘no,’ Kavanaugh will not be confirmed. If either of them vote ‘yes,’ he likely would be confirmed.
Here’s the full cloture vote count by party: https://politi.co/2IGbQLJ
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:
Tidbit about Murkowski’s vote: “Murkowski’s no was quiet — press corps all verified [with] each other that it was ‘no’.” http://bit.ly/2O8kQPP
Grassley on the Senate floor: “Sen. Grassley condemns the ‘résistance’ — using like a French accent to pronounce it — on the Senate floor.” (Via NPR’s Tim Mak) http://bit.ly/2E1nXnN
The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein ran into White House counsel Don McGahn in the Senate: Stein tweeted: “ME: Do you have the votes?
HIM: [shoulder shrug]
ME: Well?
HIM: ‘Well. I’m here’
ME: Is that as an intimidation tactic or a good luck charm?
[White House deputy press secretary] Raj Shah interjects, jokingly: ‘Oh. Leave him alone'” http://bit.ly/2O6uthZ
“A” for creativity: A group of protesters, who are against Kavanaugh, dressed as a human wall. Photo: http://bit.ly/2y168jd
Here’s a pro-Kavanaugh protester: He’s yelling, “Support Judge Kavanaugh, thus says the lord.” Photo: http://bit.ly/2ygwgpW
Happy Mitch McConnell: Politico’s Kyle Cheney tweeted, “Silent smiling McConnell makes his way to his office.” Photo: http://bit.ly/2zTv9ye
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere: “There are people drinking PBR from red Solo cups outside Mitch McConnell’s house at this early hour. They are chanting ‘I like beer.’ ” http://bit.ly/2OEmUhT
Livestream of the vote: https://cs.pn/2OCFJ4R
CONTEXT TO TODAY’S VOTE:
Tidbit — one-year anniversary: The Senate is voting on Kavanaugh’s confirmation exactly one year after the New York Times published its initial piece about Harvey Weinstein paying off sexual harassment accusers. https://nyti.ms/2OACBGV
A GOP senator may miss tomorrow’s vote: Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) will be out of town this weekend for his daughter’s wedding. Friday’s vote sets up a potential confirmation vote on Saturday. We still don’t know if the Daines trip will affect that timing. http://bit.ly/2Npq1Fv
^Throwback: Here’s a photo of Daines and his family from 2013 during the mock swearing in. (Via C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman) Photo: http://bit.ly/2Pd3r4T
Happy Friday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook .
OTHER NEWS IN THE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION FIGHT
One thing we know for sure — DJT is open about his feelings:
This morning, President Trump accused Kavanaugh protesters of being “paid professionals.” http://bit.ly/2ya3AzJ
He tweeted: “The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers.” http://bit.ly/2O48XKB
Trending — Judge Kavanaugh published an op-ed:
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal defending his “emotional” testimony last week. https://on.wsj.com/2zTMk2Z
Excerpt: “I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters.”
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM YESTERDAY’S KAVANAUGH PROTESTS ON CAPITOL HILL:
Photo of Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski getting arrested: http://bit.ly/2IFvHL0
Video of Amy Schumer: http://bit.ly/2PbTHru
The Hill’s Melanie Zanona asked Amy Schumer what the pink bracelets are for: ” ‘For drinking,’ she quipped, without missing a beat. (Colored bracelets are being used instead of ziptie handcuffs)” http://bit.ly/2IFvHL0
I’m sorry, what?: “A staffer comes up from the floor where the Kavanaugh FBI report is being held carrying a frying pan.
