Kavanaugh Has The Votes To Be Confirmed After Weeks Of Drama

Here is what happened and what it means going forward [NPR Politics]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine]( Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Big Picture: Next Steps After GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine [came out in favor of confirming him]( Friday afternoon on the Senate floor, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is all but certainly headed for the Supreme Court in very short order. The Senate advanced Kavanaugh's nomination, 51 to 49, Friday. [A final vote is expected Saturday](. There was a lot that went down Friday. What exactly happened and what does it mean going forward? [Here's what's next]( - Kavanaugh [has the votes]( to be confirmed - Protesters [made a final push]( to derail the nomination - Will the Kavanaugh saga leave [bruises that heal or permanent scars]( - Poll: Amid confirmation battle, [Democratic enthusiasm edge]( evaporates - From the archives: [What happened with Merrick Garland]( in 2016 and why it matters now — Domenico Montanaro, NPR's lead political editor --------------------------------------------------------------- Amy McGrath for Congress/Screenshot by NPR ICYMI: Top Stories Trump supports due process — sometimes: President Trump has defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through allegations of sexual assault, emphasizing the need for “due process.” But as NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe reports, Trump — from the Central Park Five to presiding over rallies with “lock her up” chants — [hasn’t always been a staunch defender]( of the accused. Married women moving away from GOP: Recent interviews and polls suggest that the Republican Party may be [losing the support of married women]( NPR’s Asma Khalid reports. While married women have for decades typically been more conservative than unmarried women, the past six months have seen married women turn away from the Republican Party and President Trump. Women veterans pitch themselves to voters: While military service can project steely toughness, some women veterans running for office are [swinging to the other side]( to pitch themselves to voters this year. NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben reports at least two women veteran candidates are taking different tacts as they head into the home stretch of the 2018 midterm campaign. A government led by the uninterested: In his new book The Fifth Risk, author Michael Lewis depicts President Trump and his transition team as unprepared to take over the federal government after the election. NPR’s Brian Naylor [reviews the book]( which details scores of vacancies across the federal government. — Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer --------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Wong/Getty Images The Russia Imbroglio: The New Era Of Foreign Threats Americans inside and outside of Washington, D.C., spent the last week transfixed by the drama over President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, but there also were ample reminders about how the rest of the world is not standing still. Thursday, for example, brought an extraordinary pair of reports about the urgent cyber-dangers that continue to confront the United States and the West — a reminder that the perils from outside don't remain static but evolve as fast as technology and human ingenuity permit. [Read the full update]( Briefly: - U.S. [charges seven Russian intelligence officers]( with hacking 40 sports and doping groups - Vice President Pence [accuses China of trying to interfere]( in U.S. elections - Most Twitter accounts linked to the 2016 disinformation campaign [are still active]( report finds - [Catch up on the previous imbroglio update here]( — Philip Ewing, NPR's national security editor [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( You received this message because you're subscribed to our Politics emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]