phil mattingly, thank you, migged, or thanks to you as well. we'll discuss more about this moment, what it means. but first i want to take you back to kansas. this picture where crowds are gathering, and they're expecting to hear in just moments, it's a safe bet he will bring up kavanaugh's nomination. just 30 days now from the mid terms. just moments ago after handling in topeka, the president said this about the supreme court's newest member. >> he's an outstanding man, an outstanding person. what they put him and his family through, the democrats, over the last few weeks is horrible. if you look at what he's had to endure, horrible, false statements. it just doesn't get any worse. but the beautiful thing is he is now in. he's going to be there for a long time. he's just an outstanding intellect, outstanding scholar. >> cnn's sarah westwood joins us from the venue. what more did he say aboard air force one? >> trump has been eager all day to tout this victory. he's been praising justice kavanaugh and the republicans who voted to confirm him,

here is cnn congressional correspondent phil mattingly. >> reporter: brett kavanaugh has been confirmed. brett kavanaugh has been sworn in. he is now a justice in supreme court. it's what is lying in the wake of this confirmation battle one of the most bitter i've ever seen in a nomination ever and what happens next? what happens next in the senate and supreme court and politically? you get gauge of that in a month in the midterm elections. what kind of impact will this have? no question it's rallied the bases of both sides. will it help one side or the other? it's something that senate majority leader mitch consequently weighed in on. take a listen. >> our base is fired up. we finally discovered the up with thing that would fire up the republican base and we didn't think of it. i was talking to two of my political advisers yesterday about the advantage that these guys by their tactics have given to us going into these red state competitive races. and we are pretty excited. they managed to deliver the only thing we had not been able to figure out how to do, which is get our folks fired

phil mattingly reporting.oining us, senator richard blumenthal, a democrat who serves on the judiciary committee. thank you for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. >>> i'm hoping you can clarify the latest issue, the republican majority on your committee, the judiciary committee, they posted this tweet. nowhere in any of these six fbi reports which the committee has reviewed on a bipartisan basis was there ever a whiff of any issue at all related in any way to inappropriate sexual behavior or alcohol abuse. what is inaccurate about that tweet? >> the clarification of the tweet would require me to go into the fbi report, but what it highlights very dramatically an directly is the need for a full investigation. and for the public to know what's in that investigation, which is why it should be made public and why the facts here are really so important. we ought to have a common goal here of all of the witnesses, including the 25 on the list that we submitted to the fbi and to the white house, we as the democratic memb

. >> let's get strayed to cnn senior congressional correspondent phil mattingly on capitol hill. phil, gave us the lay of the land there. how is this going to play out? we think we know the outcome but what are the mechanics to get there. >> we know the outcome, we know it is going to be a 151-48 vote but we don't know exactly -- 51-48 vote, but we don't know exactly how the process will play out. there are protesters outside, more than 100 of which have been arrested but also inside the senate gallery. i was in there listening to jeff cornyn giving his floor speech. and senators are starting to file in to the chamber now. what we have been told is every senator has been asked to be at their desk. in other words, this is going to be a formal role call. we saw it yesterday morning with the procedural vote. but dana, you know as welt as anybody, it is pretty rare that we have this where each senator sits at their desk and stands when their name is called and cast their vote. we expect the vote to last 20 to 30 minutes, at which point brett kavanaugh will be confirmed. i think a bigg

phil mattingly capitol hill. >> let's go to amy green. an author and researcher. your time today. let's talk what about this means for the supreme court. clearly, it's a shift to the right with the addition of justice kavanaugh. but account supreme court maintain the position given what we jurisdiction from judge kavanaugh? >> well, much ink has been spilled about that, unprecedented in nature. you can harken back to bush v. gore in many cases when the supreme court is seen as a political vehicle. it chooses an aspect of its legitimacy. now it will be incredibly difficult for the supreme court to gain its luster back. the supreme court has been a particular execution in the united states. it's necessary that it maintains its judicial independence. of course, the republicans have been on a 30-year project to flip the court system to install legal conservative movement. it seems with the installation of judge kavanaugh on the bench they can consecrated that platform. so is it will be important to see whether or not the supreme court, as your reporter said earlier, i

correspondent phil mattingly with the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: christine and dave, this is something republicans have been asking for for weeks and now it is on capitol hill. the fbi supplemental background investigation. this report will dictate whether or not brett kavanaugh is elevated to the highest court in the land. at this point, republicans do not have the votes to confirm brett kavanaugh. as it stands, the first procedural vote on the nomination will be set up for friday. that would mean a final vote on confirmation could come saturday. what the republicans don't have is the 50 votes needed to move it forward. the expectation is what the fbi returns to help get them over the line. two undecided democrats. multiple of those senators have said this report will go a long way to how they vote. it all relies on what they see here. the big problem is we won't see it. it won't be released publicly. the staffers and senators are not allowed to talk about it at all. what does that mean? it will be open to interpret ratiinterpre interpretation of what the fbi found. a goo

phil mattingly is standing by. republicans appear to be doing a sort of victory lap. do they have the votes to confirm kavanaugh? >> reporter: yeah, there is no qui there question there is optimism. but an aide says that it is not locked in yet. they know that they don't have the 51 votes need to confirm judge kavanaugh. and while they were certainly positive signs this morning, jeff flake saying that when he initially went through the reports, he did not see additional corroborating information. susan collins say it was a thorough report. but it is worth noting that those senators have gone back since and read the report individually. and heidi heitkamp, a democrat, come out with a very lengthy statement talking about why she opposed judge kavanaugh. joe man chin, he went in for a achieving earlier today and came out saying that he was still undecided and lisa murkowski has been inside the room multiple times today reyou radioing t ru the report. so they are got there yet and the senators still have to make up their minds. >> they will make the final decision. do you

. >> yeah, and phil mattingly said they do not have the votes in less than three hours from the vote.ard from some saying i have to be able to look in the mirror after i cast that vote. how does that play with voters? this is pretty much a political vote as much as a vote for a supreme court justice? >> fox news put out a poll this week that suggested more voters in the the state, she is making a personal decision based on her own personal beliefs. one other thing i point out, we are still a month away from the midterms. in this news cycle things can bounce around like crazy. the running joke is wow, that only happened a week ago or a few days ago. it's quite possible if kavanaugh gets confirmed, voters will be on a different issue by the time the vote comes around, and it could be about trump again. and we have seen that, where they are down and then back up. >> 30 days is an eternity. who knows what will happen in the last 2 1/2 hours. not to be a cynic, but heidi heitkamp could -- whatever she decides, it won't affect whether she will win or lose in north dakota. she's in a differe

let me get back over to the hill, get over to phil mattingly for more on this. is clearly, potentially a very big deal. >> reporter: yeah and it's also your occasional reminder that senators are people too and senator danes has made clear that he will not be here on saturday. i'm told that he made this clear to senate republican leadership a couple of days ago, that this wasn't news to them and that they were planning for this possibility. here's what we need to know about the numbers right now. tomorrow, the vote was just a short while ago set by mitch mcconnell to take place at 10:30, the first vote, a procedural vote. that is the vote. if they have the requisite number of votes there, then this process moves forward. the next vote would be the confirmation vote, which would take place on sarpd. what we know right now is including steve danes, republic republica republicans have 48 members that are yes votes and four undecided. they need two of those republicans or one democrat to come over tomorrow and then they would have the requisite number of votes. they'

but now that it's over, our phil mattingly takes a look at what's next and the mood in washington, d.c reporter: brett kavanaugh has been confirmed. brett kavanaugh has been sworn in. brett kavanaugh is now a justice on the supreme court. it's what's lying in the wake of this confirmation battle, one of the most bitter i've ever seen about a nomination either. what happens next? the senate? what happens next in the supreme court? what happens next politically? you get a gauge of that in just about a month with the midterm elections. what kind of impact, if any, will this have? no question it's rallied both sides. the bases of both sides. will it help one side or the other? it's something that mitch mcconnell weighed in on. take a listen. >> our base is fired up. we finally discovered the one thing that would fire up the republican base, and we didn't think of it. i was talking to two of my political advisers yesterday about the adventure that these guys by their tactics have given to us going into these red state competitive races. and we're pretty excited. they managed to deliver the

phil mattingly joins us now from capitol hill with more.rstand senator grassley get to read the findings first tomorrow morning. what happens after that? >> reporter: basically, it's going to alternate, anderson. every senator is allowed to read the report, all 100. they're going to go hour by hour. the first hour republicans will have an opportunity to read the report, be briefed by the small number of their staffers that will have access to the report. and then one hour later, democrats will be able to do it. they'll be able to rotate back and forth throughout the course of the day. anderson, it's worth noting this is a report that when it gets to capitol hill from the white house, it could come as soon as tonight. that's the expectation right now. can only be read by 100 senators, 8 staffers, and a clerk. there's no other way to get it. senators have to leave their phones outside. if they take notes during their briefing or while they're reading the report, they have to leave them in the room. this is entirely up to them. what they see a

for the latest, let me bring in cnn congressional correspondent phil mattingly. phil, we look at really dramatic footage right now of those protests on the steps of supreme court. they've been taken over, essentially, by protesters. kavanaugh is inside right now. what are you hearing about all of this from where you are at the capital? >> yeah, it's a continuation of what we've seen over the last couple of days, s.e. senators followed by protesters. it's obvious the impact this has had on people around the country. if you want to know where republicans or democrats are on the nomination itself and confirmation itself, it's obvious. republicans are elated, it's an enormous achievement. democrats clearly recognize that and the only thing they can do now is more or less try to get people out to the polls, win elections, win majorities. i think the bigger question, you got to this as did susan colle nls on tcollens on the floor, where do we go from here? they both seem to agree based on senators i've spoken in the last 24 hours or so, the chamber isn't a great place a

phil mattingly is joining us live from capitol hill. what are you hearing there, phil, especially from the three republican senators who were undecided, at least before today. >> basically the break down is this. 95 senators in the united states senate who made up their minds and their refrain splits perfectly down partisan lines. mitch mcconnell on down saying no corroboration. many allegations didn't learn anything that is problematic and they want to vote. democrats played the sound and dianne feinstein saying they are concerned it was straight jacketed. wolf, you hit the key point. what this all comes down to is a very small number of senators. if for republicans, the initial returns seem to point in the direction of possibly getting brett kavanaugh's nomination over the finish line. you pull up what the three senators have said at this point. as you noted, all three are currently in the confidential room, reading this report as it goes through. two went to the briefing this morning. senator collins said she thought it was a very tho

. >> phil mattingly, thank you very much. now in our nation's capital for this historic moment. nina turner, alice stewart, washington bureau chief for -- and arian devogue. i know you have some new reporting about how kavanaugh has been preparing to take his seat and be ready to rock and roll on day one. >> he's going to take the bench on tuesday. >> he's read all the briefs, ready to go. during this hearing, he said he would be the first justice to hire all female clerks. i'm told that's done, that's in the works. >> and of course, the other, of course, anthony kennedy. the interesting thing about this movement more americans were against kavanaugh than for him. we have a president whose -- and majority of women was so much -- and of course this is a moment a lot of men in power have suffered consequences in this me too movement. but could it do the exact opposite and gal vinize them? >> it remains to be seen. if the frustration is more of a galvanizing force than the wind best neath the wings of the republican. it energizes the republican base, and i think mitch mcconnell sai

our congressional correspondent phil mattingly is joining us. il, a day of very high drama in the u.s. senate. >> reporter: no question about it. rarely if ever does senate majority leader mitch mcconnell go into a big vote not knowing if he has the votes, yet sources tell me that's exactly the position he was in this morning, one that was maintained throughout much of the day until senator susan collins took to the floor. >> so help you god. >> i do. >> reporter: tonight supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh is on the path to confirmation by the narrowest of margins. >> mr. president, i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. >> reporter: senator susan collins, long undecided, declaring she will vote yes despite protests over sexual assault allegations against kavanaugh. >> the facts presented do not mean that president -- that professor ford was not sexually assaulted that night or at some other time, but they do lead me to conclude that the allegations failed to meet the more-likely-than-not standard. therefore, i do not believe that these charg

i want to get it phil mattingly and jeff who covered it from the start. you have new reporting on senator murkowski's thinking. >> she was the big news of that procedural vote, deciding to vote no and standing up quietly saying no and sitting back down. she just told reporters she will be a no for the final vote as well. she said brett kavanaugh is not the right man and this is one of the toughest decisions she ever had to make. a lot of people have been watching the votes for the senators and what are the politics and the polling and what is it going to mean for their reelection. these senators have been grappling with this in a very, very difficult way over the course of the last couple of weeks and have gone back and forth and read fbi investigations and heard from constituents and met with sexual assault survivors. this is a complex issue. this is why it is a complex vote. while we know that senator murkowski is a no and they did get the votes to move it forward, it's possible that senators collins, flake, and manchin could flip to no at the final vot

. >> phil mattingly, appreciate that. you spoke to the majority leader as well.ant to read a piece from your article. our candidates are able to deal with it, regarding the barrage of ads criticizing his gop candidates in health care. there's nobody that is not in favor of coverage for pre-existing conditions. does he get this is a problem? >> he's heard of it and he's arguing they're doing the best they can. but this is a important point. mcdonnell says everyone favors coverage for pre-existing conditions, everyone says they do but the way they approach it is different. democrats support barring insurers from turning away people who are sick, preventing them from charging higher prices to people who have prior illnesses and requiring they cover a certain set of benefits. republicans want to do the first thing but not the second two which democrats argue say everyone has access to a ferrari but they can charge you a million dollars for it. so saying you're for pri existing conditions doesn't mean you support policies that would cover sick people. okay enlists hea

from our partner's at c-n-n phil mattingly reports, their announcements capped a dramatic day in washington. natsot: kavanaughtonight, supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh is on the path to confirmation by the narrowest of margins.sen. susan collins, (r) maine:"mister president, i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh."senator susan collins, long undecided, declaring she will vote yes, despite protests over sexual assault allegations against kavanaughsen. susan collins, (r) maine:"the facts presented do not mean that president -- that professor ford was not sexual assaulted that night or at some other time, but they do lead me to conclude that the allegations fail to meet the more likely than not standard. therefore, i do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent judge kavanaugh from serving on the court." senator joe manchin, a red state democrat, announcing just minutes later, he too would be a yes.sen. joe manchin, (d) west virginia: "i'm very much concerned with the sexual abuse that people have had to endure and very much concerned we have to do something as a country, but i ha

let's go straight to phil mattingly and talk again about what we heard in the last hour from two of the five key senators. susan collins thinks it was thorough and jeff flake saying he did not see any additional corroborating information. take me behind the scenes in what you are seeing and hearing on the hill. >> those votes are everything. as well as everybody else chasing the five senators in particular pretty much every day. susan collins stopped talking to people as she waited for the fbi to finish the investigation and accepted it up to capitol hill and susan collins is not known to be loose with her words. she is known to telegraph. that's what he said today. both senators flake and collins said they only received the briefing on the report. a couple of people reported the report is more than 1,000 pages long. koth i collins and flake said they would review it later in the day, but the initial returns mean everything. the aides felt confident going into the day from what they are hearing from the senators and feel very good that things are on the right track. the key issues are a

she sat very calmly, according to our colleagues, lauren fox and phil mattingly who are in the chamber, they report she just announced she would vote no almost expressionless as she did that vote. there was some discussion among some of the members, but catching some of colleagues by surprise. the question still remains, i was just talking to people in the leadership on both sides, what will happen on that confirmation vote. they do not know for sure if there are the votes to confirm brett kavanaugh, because of the very reasons we have been discussing. is susan collins going to split her vote, essentially vote no on confirmation after voting yes to advance the nomination? her decision to make this announcement later today raising a lot of questions that she may vote no. and joe manchin, did he just vote to advance this nomination? that does not necessarily mean he's going to vote to ultimately confirm kavanaugh tomorrow. a lot of discussion, a lot of confusion among the leadership on both sides because of the uncertainty right now of kavanaugh's nomination hanging by a thread at this m

phil mattingly joins us now with the very latest on that. phil, we all watched. they're moving forward with this nomination. fill us in. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right. look, the clock starts. there is now a vote scheduled for sometime on friday, likely friday morning. that will be the first test of whether or not senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is able to get the 50 or 51 votes he needs to actually move brett kavanaugh's nomination forward. as you noted, don, a final confirmation vote, if they get the votes on friday, would then happen on saturday. brett kavanaugh could be elevated to the supreme court by the end of the weekend. here's the reality right now. obviously they decided to start the clock even before senate republicans and senate democrats received the fbi supplemental background investigation. i am told that should arrive on the hill sometime in the near future. senators will be able to start reading it tomorrow morning. all 100 senators will have access to that background investigation. basically what they're going to do tomorrow mor

. >> let's go to our congressional correspondent phil mattingly.nator from arizona, republican, he told reporters he will vote yes tomorrow barring some unforeseen development. what are you hearing about susan collins' mindset right now? >> reporter: the best we've gotten is just about an hour ago, she finished up lunch with mitch mcconnell, senator john corn cornyn, the number two rather, senator john thune. but this was behind closed doors. the senator came out and said he was optimistic. i just ran into chuck grassley, chairman of the senate jacket, he was in -- judiciary committee. none of them know exactly what senator collins is going to do. just to set the stakes here, wolf, you named senator jeff flake. that's 49. if he stays where he is, that's 49 senators, republicans need 50 and the tie breaking vote from vice president pence. if susan collins says she will vote yes on the nomination, that is the vote that they need. obviously we're still waiting to hear from senator joe manchin, whether he plans to maintain his vote as well. a senator w

phil mattingly here for that. what are the next steps? where do things go from here? >> at least on the technical side of things, the senate is in the middle of 30 hours of debate. they will have the final vote and it's obviously very clear they have the votes. the broader question where the senate goes from here, where the institutions goes from here, where the conversation goes from here, it's a very interesting question. a gop aide said, quote, it's only going to get worse from here. this wasn't a moment where you heard from senator lisa murkowski perhaps take a step back and say perhaps there's a better way to go from here. this will only escalate in the weeks and months ahead. we're just a month away from the election, so expect the fights to continue, nobody to cool off. in fact, expect things to heat up is my understanding at this point. >> it it's been reported senator collins was undecided through this entire process. do we know the details of how she got to yes? >> it's really interesting, anderson. in the last couple of weeks before the sexual assault alleg

let me read you what he told our phil mattingly moments ago.cided and will probably be undecided until i walk into the door to vote at 10:30 a.m. that is not how mitch mcconnell wants to see it go or chuck grassley. let's discuss. so nia, to you, look, they don't know and grassley was so clear with that this morning. manchin still reading it this morning. what are you feel something. >> we don't know. we will know once they start casting these votes. very interesting that manchin says a bolt of lightening will strike him when he walks in. he says he's weighing everything. he's got to be weighing the fact he's in west virginia, a state that is heavily republican. >> 32 days from the midterms. >> yeah. he's been able to win there by being independent from his party. he didn't even endorse obama the last time he ran in 2012. so we'll see. murkowski has these competing pressures in alaska as wellment collins, somebody who probably will face a pretty tough challenger if she votes. but then you have to know that these folks are republicans, right? th

. >> phil mattingly on capitol hill for us, thank you. >>> never before have we seen such contention and opposition to a supreme court nominee. the aclu, more than 2,400 law professors, newspapers, the national council of churches, a retired supreme court justice, and many others, all voicing their opposition to brett kavanaugh. and yet he is confirmed. he is now justice kavanaugh tonight. joining us now, cnn supreme court reporter ariane de vogue, nera tan dden, nera mcbride, an jackie kucinich. we just listed all the opposition. yet he is confirmed. i'll start with you, since we just heard from the president, we heard from mitch mcconnell. you're the democrat on the panel. what's your reaction, how did we end up in this spot? >> because republicans control the majority, and mitch mcconnell was able to get the vast majority of the republican party to vote for a conservative justice. but i think the truth is that, you know, i came into politics through the anita hill hearings, 27 years ago now. i think this could really be a pyrrhic victory for republicans, in the sense that i think

people with direct knowledge tell cnn phil mattingly that republicans don't have the votes yet at this moment. it all comes down to four senators, three republicans, one democrat, at least two of them need to vote in favor of brett kavanaugh in order for him to be confirmed. >> and just to put all of this in connect, yet another unprecedented moment last night when brett kavanaugh penned an op ed overnight for "the wall street journal" conceding he might have been too emotional in his testimony before the senate judiciary committee. he promised to be independent, impartial as a judge. he did not apologize in that op ed. a republican official telling cnn it's become clear to the white house that questions about brett kavanaugh's temperament and his independence were emerging as sticking points for those undecided senators. so will that op ed have an impact? live outside the office of senator susan collins. one of those undecided four. have you seen her yet this morning? >> reporter: we have not. there has been no activity outside of susan collin's office yet. she is indeed one of the fo

. >>> with me in studio to share their insight, kathericatherine phil mattingly, michael warren and mj lee. so the jury of three, collins, murkowski and flake, no fans of the president. so clearly when he does things like this, it annoys them. but back to the question, is that something that they then put asided because i think lost in this has been all three are predisposed to vote yes. they just want the fbi do due diligence and if they don't see anything shocking, anything to corroborate ford or ramirez, they are prepared to vote yes, correct? >> certainly senators collins and flake. lisa murkowski has other issues that are specific to her state. but i think the interesting element is throughout the course of the last year and a half, those senators have been able to raise concern about the president's comments and then push them aside and make decisions on the merits that they see fit. what is most interesting is you have this almost like a dual prong game happening. on the ground a brutal bare nuknu knuckle because on the senate floor, you name it, and then these three snenators a

quickly i want to go to our congressional correspondent phil mattingly.hat are you hearing tonight from kavanaugh's accuser, professor christine blasey ford? >> reporter: well, wolf, it has been five days since the fbi launched its supplemental background investigation and we are learning tonight that christine blasey ford, the initial accuser of sexual assault of brett kavanaugh has not been contacted by the fbi. we have learned it from a letter to the fbi director that was obtained a short while ago. her lawyers laying out they've repeatedly contacted the fbi in e-mails and letters and offered up specific evidence they believe would help the fbi's look into brett kavanaugh's background. it says this, wolf. it is inconceivable that the fbi could conduct a thorough investigation of dr. ford's allegations without interviewing her, judge kavanaugh or the witnesses we have identified in our letters to you. here is kind of the reality, at least as far as it's been discussed with me. the fbi in its current state is, both, a, wrapping up the investigation or to

phil mattingly, thank you very much. >>> joining us now, one of the 100 u.s.enators set to vote on brett kavanaugh's nomination, senator bob menendez. he is a democrat, a member of the foreign relations committee. thanks for joining us. >> good to be with you, wolf. >> from your perspective, what needs to happen for you to trust the findings of this fbi investigation this week? >> well, wolf, it needs to be a full, thorough investigation. i mean, look, this investigation should have been called for before -- once the allegations were already raised by dr. ford, and anything that followed on. so there isn't a cinderella moment here. nothing is going to happen to the supreme court. the republicans held up a seat when justice scalia passed away for nearly a year. so there is no reason to ram this through. there is every reason for the integrity of the court, for all of those who are sexual assault survivors and even for judge kavanaugh if he wants to have an opportunity to truly know what it is that transpired and he doesn't fear anything, he knows all of the tru

mattingly, up on capitol hill, who was in the chaim% as this vote was starting, the vice president and the chair, phil and obviously a coordinated attempt to disrupt. you witnessed it. what did you see? >> reporter: over the course of the last couple hours, occasional protesters would pop up and shout "i do not consent" but as the roll call, as many as eight raised their fists and started shouting. the capitol police, because they were in separate sections it took a while to get them out. >> phil, let's listen in. >>> -- not committed in the senate gallery. are there any senators who wish to vote or change a vote? if not, on this vote, the ayes are 50, the nays are 48, the nomination of bret m. kavanaugh of maryland to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states is confirmed. majority leader? >> i ask consent the motion to reconsider be considered laid and made on the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. i suggest that -- >> sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. alexander -- >>> so there you see