The Senate confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court Saturday afternoon.
The 50 to 48 vote was mostly along party lines, with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia being the only Democrat to vote "yes." Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the only Republican to break with her party, voted "present" to accommodate another Republican senator who was unable to make it to Washington for the vote.
Indiana's two senators, Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly and Republican Sen. Todd Young, voted "no" and "yes" respectively. Donnelly announced his opposition to Kavanaugh's nomination late last month after speculation the moderate senator would vote to confirm the judge.
Both senators released statements shortly after the vote.
"I believe the process was unfair to everyone and unnecessarily divided the country," Donnelly said in his statement. "Now that the Senate has confirmed Judge Kavanaugh, I am very hopeful for his success and for him to join the other justices to make decisions based on the Constitution, our laws, and their collective wisdom. Our country needs that today more than ever."
Young cited Kavanaugh's judicial experience in his statement, noting that the judge clerked for a Supreme Court justice and had served on the D.C. Circuit Court.
“The accusations leveled against Judge Kavanaugh were serious and needed to be investigated," Young said in his statement. "Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser were each afforded the opportunity to tell their stories to the American people. Following that, the FBI investigated the claims as requested. During this scrutiny, and six previous background investigations, none of the accusations were corroborated in any way."
This story has been updated with statements from both of Indiana's two U.S. Senators.
