*By Kate Gill*
After days of speculation, controversy, and protest, Brett Kavanaugh moved a big step closer to taking a seat on the Supreme Court after clearing a procedural vote in the Senate, and winning the support of moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
The Senate will hold a formal confirmation vote on Saturday, and barring a surprise change of heart by Republican Senators, Kavanaugh seems assured of the votes he needs.
Among the four Senators seen as possible swing votes, Fellow Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona said he would support Kavanaugh, as did Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Among the wavering Senators, only Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) seems likely to vote against him on Saturday. Murkowski was a no during the procedural vote, suggesting she has shifted her position on Kavanaugh's confirmation.
The 51-49 procedural vote may be the penultimate turn in Kavanaugh's bumpy ride to the nation's highest court, but any senator can change his or her mind in the final hour.
Senator Collins ー who had not previously declared her intention ー spoke on the Senate floor hours after the procedural vote, delivering a lengthy speech on her desire to confirm Kavanaugh and to put the debate to rest.
"We've heard a lot of charges and counter-charges about Judge Kavanaugh, but as those who have known him best have attested, he has been an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband and father," she said.
"Despite the turbulent, bitter fight surrounding his nomination, my fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions, and so that public confidence in our judiciary and our highest court is restored. Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh."
Sen. Flake also indicated in a statement on Friday he will vote yes on Kavanaugh's confirmation, "unless something big changes."
Collins' unequivocal statement of support for Kavanaugh came just over a week after the nation was riveted by the public testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who said Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school 36 years ago. After initially resisting calls to reopen the background investigation into Kavanaugh, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed last week to bring in the FBI to investigate Dr. Ford's allegations.
The FBI interviewed a small number of individuals but closed the investigation on Wednesday, producing a report that said the agency could find no evidence to corroborate Ford's accusations. Democrats and Ford's lawyers have criticized authorities for not interviewing her, or Kavanaugh, or any potential witnesses that might support Ford's account of a high school party, where the nominee allegedly assaulted her.
Following Friday's procedural vote, President Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1048226225196552193) that he was "very proud" of the Senate.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
