Kavanaugh sworn in as 114th Supreme Court justice after 50-48 Senate vote

The+newly+confirmed+114th+Supreme+Court+Justice+Brett+Kavanaugh+takes+the+Constitutional+Oath%2C+administered+by+Chief+Justice+John+Roberts%2C+accompanied+by+Kavanaughs+wife%2C+Ashley+Estes+Kavanaugh%2C+and+his+two+daughters%2C+Liza+and+Margaret.+The+Senate+confirmed+Kavanaughs+nomination+in+a+50-48+today.

Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States (supremecourt.gov)

The newly confirmed 114th Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh takes the Constitutional Oath, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, accompanied by Kavanaugh’s wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, and his two daughters, Liza and Margaret. The Senate confirmed Kavanaugh’s nomination in a 50-48 today.

by Ryan Guan and Kathy Fang

The Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court today. Kavanaugh, the second justice nominated by President Donald Trump, will fill a vacant spot left by the retirement of former Justice Anthony Kennedy in July and is likely to cement a conservative-leaning majority on the court.

Among the five swing votes, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Az., Sen. Joe Manchlin, D-Wv., voted in support of the confirmation while Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-Nd., voted against. Kavanaugh was sworn in hours after the confirmation vote and will begin his work in the Court immediately.

His confirmation process was marked by allegations of sexual assault made by three women this summer. The political controversies surrounding these allegations culminated in a hearing last Thursday during which both Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Following the hearing, Flake requested that the committee delay the floor vote to allow for a week-long FBI investigation, which interviewed nine people and was submitted for senators to review on Thursday. Neither Ford nor Kavanaugh was interviewed by the FBI during the investigation.

This piece was originally published on Harker Aquila’s Facebook page.