senator lisa murkowski, though, a no. remember, though, this is the first of two big votes and there appears to be real uncertainty for this nomination right now. about four hours from now, one of the key swing votes is scheduled to announce her decision on a vote for or against judge kavanaugh. you heard correctly, even after this key vote republican senator susan collins of maine holding open the possibility that her yes today may not necessarily be a yes tomorrow. there is also some question as to whether she is the only one. we've got msnbc's garrett haake on capitol hill for us. also with us aaron blake senior political reporter for "the washington post" is with me as well. garrett, let me start with you, sir. walk us through what the next few hours and next day or so is going to look leek. again, we should note for our viewers and listeners that the debate over judge kavanaugh could start any moment there on the floor? >>. >> reporter: craig, the tension level on capitol hill has been at an 11 for the last few days

watched murkowski entire time. her demeanor changed a bit after collins and flake voted aye, her vote no longer the deciding vote. she looked down for a while, closed her eyes, blinked a bunch and then looked up with resolve. when her name was called she stood and said, no. softly. senator murkowski did not fully explain her vote until tonight on the senate floor. senator murkowski's explanation was an echo of what we heard yesterday from former senator john paul stevens who said he changed his vote personally because of how brett kavanaugh behaved during last week's judiciary hearing in which kavanaugh declared between tears and rage that he was facing an attempted rape allegation by dr. christine blasey ford because of a democratic party conspiracy that included what brett cav that you called revenge on behalf of the clintons. justice stevens was horrified by what brett kavanaugh had to say, not in brett kavanaugh's denial in the accusations against him, but in the accusations brett kavanaugh made about so many p

watch murkowski entire time. her demeanor changed a bit after collins and flake voted aye -- her vote no longer the deciding vote. she looked down for a while, closed her eyes, blinked a bunch, then looked up we are solve. when her name was called, she stood and said, no softly. senator murkowski did not fully explain her vote until tonight on the senate floor. senator murkowski's explanation was an echo from yesterday from former justice paul stwheemps said he changed his mind personally about the suitability of brett kavanaugh because of the way he behaved in last week's judiciary hearing in which brett kavanaugh claimed through tears and rage that he was facing an attempted rape allegation because of a democratic party conspiracy that included what brett kavanaugh called revenge on behalf of the clintons. justice stevens was horrified by what brett kavanaugh had to say, not in brett kavanaugh's denial of the accusations against him. but in the accusations that brett kavanaugh made about so many people who were

murkowski republican and joe manchin a democrat.ay interview with demonstrators against kavanaugh shouting disapproval. manchin offered third-degree about his vote and whether politics plaid a part. >> you're up for reelection. are you concerned lt basis of revolt? >> one person noticed about his political party. former congressman. at odds with the new republican party. thanks for being with us. when you're a lawmakers do you vote along the lines of what citizens want or believe they want? or conscious tells you to do. there are times when they are in conflict. >> you tend to do both. it depends on the issue. follow your conscious or constituents and there can be conflict. in the case of joe manchin, from a purely political perspective he did the right thing. i don't think that'll suffer a big consequence as a result of this. he's his primary is behind him. even six years from now at reelection. even if they did, he could change parties and run as republican. and probably win. murkowski should be remembered in 2010 was challenged b

i'm seeing conflicting things about that. >> murkowski is a no. >> wow. >> murkowski is a no. joe manchin is a yes. susan collins, jeff flake, joe manchin will move forward that means judge brett kavanaugh will get a shot at a final vote after up to 30 hours of floor speeches from democrats and republicans. he has passed this critical test. he is over this hurdle. incredibly significant for republican republicans, for the president who is watching this from the white house along with the vice president who is there now, i'm told. garrett, jennifer, charlie is with me on set. explain what happens next. we will see 30 hours potentially of republicans and democrats which sets us up for a final vote form nightomorrow night? >> we could see up to 30 hours. reaso reaso republicans, if they feel they have this vote or they could push this to the limit of the 30 hours. talking about the personal nature of the senate, this vote could go a lot longer than 30 hours because steve daines, a republican from montana has said he'll be walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding tomorro

what will collins do now that murkowski said no? i will eat this mug if joe manchin says and he may end up being the deciding vote. that's a big deal. >> that's the key. we all love nerd math when we are talking about such a razor thin vote. the key is with flake a yes, murkowski, a firm no. kavanaugh needs one more senator. who is it going to be? >> who is going to be the person to seal the deal one way or the other. to kill the nomination or keep it alive. that's a big decision for joe manchin who according to our reporting does not want to be the person keeping kavanaugh alive single handedly, but he may be if susan collins feels like she has the political capital to do it or wants to do it. i think that's one of the reasons why there is so much uncertainty. i think it's not just about what the individual politics it of a yes or no vote is. it's also about being the driver. >> they are well aware that the fact that susan collins was sitting next to lisa murkowski talking about this in plain sight after she voted no on the procedu

she thinks murkowski is closer to a no. how different is the calculation for lisa murkowski versus senator collins as they are looking at that vote and what it means? >> i think it's actually very different. i'm actually from alaska, so i know a lot about lisa murkowski. and she has an interesting coalition of people. for one thing separate from the brett kavanaugh issue, she has a problem with indigenous alaskans who don't like him. she also has a lot of liberal women including my mother and all of her friends who actually like her, even though she is a republican and see her as being a fair person. so i think that there is a real independent streak in alaskan women and i think that lisa murkowski could end up showing that. that said, she is a republican. she is, you know, a member of the republican party, so you can't predict it. but i think of these people, she's the most likely to vote against him. >> jeff flake has all but told us he's a yes vote, that he was happy with the investigation. he saw no corroborating eviden

be about lisa murkowski?she won't have my support in the future? >> how do you feel about that? >> she won't have my full support either? >> reporter: what about you? >> i would not write her name or put a check mark by her name. >> reporter: would any of you still vote for lisa murkowski? >> no. >> reporter: so you're counting on her to vote no on kavanaugh? >> yes. >> reporter: would you be surprised if she did vote yes? >> very. >> reporter: last week senator murkowski said she could not support kavanaugh if there was no fbi investigation. well, now there is an investigation. as you said, she is not showing her cards. last week this didn't get a lot of attention, but last week the senator in washington talked to a local reporter with alaska public media. that reporter asked the senator about the me too moment and asked the senator have you ever had a me too moment? senator murkowski said yes but did not elaborate. that could prove to be significant. brooke? zounds li >> sounds like it. thank you for that.

among them, as we've pointed out, is republican senator lisa murkowski of alaska.it before, voting against the republican plan to repeal obamacare last year. the gop not only wants her support this time, they certainly need it, but murkowski is facing pressure back home. the details now from our gary tuchman who traveled to a remote area in alaska to hear some people's concerns. >> reporter: katherine martin is an indigenous alaska, a member of the ma taska traditional council. and while she and about 100 other nates in this village may be far out in the alaskan wilderness, they are all in on the debate happening in washington. how many of you want to see judge brett kavanaugh be confirmed and end up on the supreme court? who doesn't? all of you. >> yes. >> yes. >> reporter: there are tens of thousands of indigenous people who live in alaska and past senate elections they have voted overwhelmingly for lisa murkowski, whose vote is key in determining if brett kavanaugh ammunition it to the supreme court. everyone we talked to in this village strongly supports murkow

i love senator murkowski's tone. very rational and it is something she clearly agonized over and that's the right way to behave and unfortunately, not enough senators behaved that way. >> were you surprised? >> no. i thought it was a tremendous performance by her this afternoon. there's been so much emotion and people running around, personally confronting senators. the pure expression of emotion, it should be enough to move someone to your position. and with murkowski and collins this afternoon, these are statements meant to persuade and explain their positions. and that's the appropriate way to go. and i thought collins was especially strong. the corral gags here against brett kavanaugh, it was not that he got angry when he was accused, it was that he was guilty of a sexual assault. and she very persuasively explained how there is no independent corroboration of that and to the extent there is evidence, it cuts the wrong way. and even outside the legal setting, fairness and the presumption of innocence and when you

. >> reporter: and lisa murkowski of alaska. senator murkowski is still undecided.ator collins says she won't make an announcement yet, but she adds of the fbi report, it appears to be a very thorough investigation. >> kavanaugh has got to go. >> reporter: the pressure on these two women to evaluate a supreme court pick who might have a lasting impact on women's rights from equal rights in the workplace to me too to abortion is collins' home state of maine, an appeal to her sense of sisterhood from her female constituents, including dini. >> i think we need to send a signal to our society, our girls, to our sisters, to everybody that experiences something like this that it's not your fault, you can come out and tell your story and you can be brave. >> reporter: merz and other mainers are writing letters to collins, sharing deeply personal stories of sexual assault. the stack of about 1,500 letters hand delivered to an aide in senator collins' portland office. >> i have to urge senator collins on behalf of me and other sexual assault survivors to please listen to us

lisa murkowski, the republican senator from alaska, votes no. there are 51 republicans, 49 democrats, with manchin now voting yes to move this legislation forward, allowing a full scale vote tomorrow in the senate floor. it looks like they do have the votes to move the kavanaugh nomination forward. lots of people are going to be analyzing this. let's listen in for a moment. i think the official announcement is coming. >> are there any senators in the chamber who wish to change their vote? as a reminder to our guests in the galleries, expressions of approval or disapproval are not permitted in the senate galleries. on this vote, the ayes are 51, the noes are 49. the motion is agreed to. >> the judge kavanaugh nomination now moves to the next and final stage, a full vote in the senate. that's expected tomorrow. but this was a critically, critically important move. 51/49. the only democrat voting in favor, once again, joe manchin, the democratic senator from west virginia, who is in a tough re-election battle right now in his home state. let's get

. >> senator murkowski not vote with her party affect your -- how does senator murkowski affect your -- >> senator murkowski is a very, very, very dear friend of mine. very dear friend of mine and she did everything. dotted every i. she went through the same process we all did and came to different conclusions. i came to my conclusion this morning when i went through another hour and a half of reading the fbi report. >> do you believe dr. ford? >> i believe dr. ford. something happened to dr. ford. i don't believe that the facts showed that it was brett kavanaugh, but i believe something happened. >> did you think someone else did it? >> i think someone else did it. >> senator, what do you say to women who watch this process unfold. heard dr. ford's story and feel like judge kavanaugh is getting confirmed anyway, even though they've stepped forward and that the senate is essentially -- >> -- just the respect but also basically the hurt people have, the trauma they've gone through. i mean, empathy and sympathy. and i'll do everything i can to make sure they're heard and make sure this

>> yeah, i think lisa murkowski has tell graphed from the beginning her concerns.nterested collision up there. she's a republican/independent, so i think her calculus -- look, i give them all the benefit of the doubt. i don't believe it's always all political, but i can see how her independent stand gives her room to do that in alaska. the three really that took risk, heidi heitkamp, got in worse trouble. people give he some salute for the, quote, occurrence. susan collins took a very hard vote with a lot of courage. in her state, maine, which tilts blue. she's up for reelection in 2020. and finally manchin, he's good et a pass on the criticism from the democrats, which surprises me, because he's the only democrat to support kavanaugh, an incredibly partisan battle, but in west virginia, he's managed to stay five, six points ahead by become a democrat who talks a lot like a republican, so maybe some democrats will stay home to punish him. there is got to be some disappointment in the democratic base back in west virginia. >> how do you think the president handled h

lisa murkowski looks like she will be a no.leaves to susan collins, republican from maine and joe manchin from west begin, if either one of those individuals were to vote no, this effectively could be over and be no need for a tiebreaker on the part of the vice president. having said all of that, what does your gut tell you, senator? >> instincts tell me once you vote for the motion to cloture as just happened, unlikely you change your vote and that would be the circumstance in most instances but this is a unique circumstance but i still would analyze it saying that people who voted yes to move forward are people who are going to vote yes for confirmation. neil: okay. we will get an indication of that from susan collins. you're pretty good at reading the tea leaves and sentiment of a lot of your colleagues. most people thought last week at this time we wouldn't see a delay in the vote. of course jeff flake moved by some passionate demonstrators outside of an elevator did add this one week extension so the fbi could talk to witn

no word at this time from senator lisa murkowski. the senate judiciary committee saying there is nothing we didn't already know and no hint of misconduct. ranking member dianne feinstein said the white house obstructed a full investigation. >> democrats agreed that the investigation scope should be limited. we did not agree that the white house should tie the fbi's hands. in my view from what i saw, the investigation was very limited and it will be interesting after all of the members have an opportunity to read the documents and we have an opportunity in public to discuss our conclusions, what the findings are. >> outside on the streets of washington, d.c., protesters are marching in opposition to the nomination of judge kavanaugh. we are going to go there live shortly. you can see lots of people have gathered in the nation's capital to protest. 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 t

but we also didn't know how lisa murkowski was going to vote. she said she didn't decide until she walked on the floor. senator manchin doesn't want to be the deciding vote. jeff flake clearly has been all over the place. no, i don't think this was pre-ordained. i think it was clear senator collins spent a long time thinking why she was for judge kavanaugh. she laid out that case. she didn't just say i'm going to be the deciding vote to back him up. she provided you know kind of a redrock of defense i think if judge kavanaugh faces challenges around this while he's on the bench, he will be able to point to what she said and say susan collins said all of these things about me and it's going to be i think really potentially a central point going forward. i don't think her speech will only live in this moment. i think it will live on. i think a lot of the people who think she is betraying the #metoo movement will really focus on that over the long term. there are people that say they want to work against her, work on the campaign to run against her

susan collins of maine, murkowski, jeff flake, and joe manchin. the other senator on that list until earlier today was heidi heitkamp of north dakota. she announced her decision on live television with a local station back home in her home state. >> this isn't a political decision. if this were a political decision for me, i certainly would be deciding this the other way. i can't get up in the morning and look at the life experience that i've had and say, yes to judge kavanaugh. >> so here's where we are. two story lines have emerged following the release of the fbi report on kavanaugh. first the republicans. top members of the judiciary committee walked into a press briefing with reporters today. and while no one wanted to sound like ageism, some couldn't help but do the simple math here, a combined age of 416 years, an average age of 69 years, and as a group today their tone was one of vindication. >> what we know for sure is the fbi report did not corroborate any of the allegations against judge kavanaugh. >> i feel very good about where this n

lisa murkowski voted no. but what collins announces the next hour is what could ultimately be a game changer. joining us now is manu raju. are you hearing any more details about collins' mindset right now? >> reporter: well, something potentially significant just happened. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell had lunch with senator collins just moments ago, along with other members of the republican leadership like senator john cornyn, the number one republican. now, mcconnell emerged from that lunch and said he was, quote, optimistic about the vote tomorrow. that's a rather surprising comment for this reason -- mcconnell rarely comments to reporters in the hallway about something so significant, something that's about to happen, something so sensitive. so potentially sending a message about what he may have learned from susan collins. now, he did not say explicitly how susan collins is going to vote. collins refused to comment until she makes her floor speech at 3 p.m. if she were to vote yes, brett kavana

that should be a major concern to lisa murkowski.e they're not just banking everything on the fbi report. there is enough evidence of his pattern of decision-making. not to mention, his very expansive views of presidential protections because he is the only one who wrote that the president should be immune from any kind of criminal or civil proceedings while he is sitting in office. i'm sure this president really paid a lot of attention to that. >> jeff flake said he is a conservative senators. i think jeff flake is inclined to vote yes. the washington post had an interesting article and the headline was male fury and fear rises in gop in defense of brett kavanaugh. it is the notion that men feel like they're being unfairly targeted by allegations of sexual assault. and the president's son, donald trump jr., spoke to that in this interview. if i can, i want to play you part of that. listen. >> who are you scared most for, your sons or your daughters. >> right now, i would say any sons. when the other side weaponizes it men and says 4

>> murkowski. >> on this vote, the yays 51. the noes are 49. the motion is agreed to. >> i'm glad our colleagues decided to close off debate. now as this 30-hour post cloture period ensues. >> with so much at stake we should not assure a nominee to the court without confidence. i will vote no on the nomination. >> do you plan to vote yes tomorrow? >> unless something changed. i don't see a better process. >> what do you -- >> i -- no. i admire her a lot. a lot. everybody had to make their own decision and i think the world of her. >> i did not come to a decision on this until walking in to the floor this morning. i have been wrestling with whether -- whether or not this was about qualifications of a good man. or, is this bigger than the nominee? and i believe we are dealing with issues right now that are bigger than a nominee. i believe that brett kavanaugh is a good man. i believe he is a good man. it just may be that in my view he's not the right man for the court at this time. >> all right. we are following a dramatic and historic moment on

senator murkowski voting no.n that means that this vote will likely be cleared and our policy here at nbc news is not to report the outcome of a vote until after it's been closed. so just to give our viewers that caveat, but right now it does look like it is on track for this to continue forward. so justice brett kavanaugh's -- excuse me, judge brett kavanaugh's nomination does not look like it will be stopped here this morning. instead the drama will shift to this potential final vote. susan collins scheduled to announce how she is going to vote at 3:00 this afternoon. so there has been something of a -- and i have been texting with my sources about this in the last couple of minutes, that there is some sort of game of you go first, no, you go first among these undecided senators. they have been feeling each other out to figure out what they are going to do. senate murkowski sent a firm signal here. she is a no. it would be different to see a world she would vote yes on final passage. but she has taken the first

alaska senator lisa murkowski voted president. montana senator steve daines did not vote. he was attending his daughter's wedding. here is the senate vote. this is approximately 20 minutes. reminder to our guests in the galleries, expressions of approval or disapproval are not permitted in the senate galleries. under the previous question, all postcloture time has expired. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the vice president: is there a sufficient second? there is a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. vote: the vice president: the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the vice president: the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the vice president: the sergeant at arms has restored order in the gallery. the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the clerk may continue. vote: the vice president: the sergeant at arms will restore order in the gallery. the clerk may continue. vote:

flake, collins, murkowski voted for gulch. murkowski did not vote for sotomayor and kagan.kowski as you said, brian, everybody is watching out for. ainsley: people looking at joe manchin. he was leaving the senate and confronted by a protester. watch that. >> i don't understand how you cannot look me in the eye. >> can i. >> why are you going to vote oyes on this? >> can you tell me how i'm going to vote? >> i'm not voting until tomorrow morning. >> how are you not listening to us brian: finally a little bit of security. screaming in the face getting old. let him do his job and woman do her job. joe manchin has treated that protester with respect. the screaming and shrieking i hope would stop soon. no corroboration is with both flake and collins have said. that's important. they have looked at the multipage report and they said you talked to people involved with ramirez that's the new yorker article. you talked to people involved with kavanaugh and dr. ford. that was the testimony. and there has been no corroboration. so, it seems as though all the boxes have been checked f

lisa murkowski, susan collins, jeff flake, joe manchin. based on my own reporting, i think lisa murkowski feels least likely to vote for judge kavanaugh. if you recall, there's the native alaskan issue. it feels like manchin and collins will go together. the one i have a doubt about is jeff flake. i think he's -- i think -- i'm less -- i'm more convinced he votes yes today, but i wouldn't assume a yes today for him would be a yes tomorrow. today, remember, this is just breaking the filibuster. >> this is ending the debate to move on. >> it used to be 60 votes, today

lisa murkowski, susan collins, they're all undergoing a very similar dynamic. and so if you set the date of the vote, you are saying, you are signaling, look, this is going to happen, and this investigation has to be wrapped up within this period of time. >> how much does public polling matter here? he's not a popular nominee. it's a minority of americans, a distinct minority of americans that want to see him on the supreme court and it looks like in the polling that most of those americans that do want to see him there are men, so, how much is the public polling going to weigh on -- >> well, the public polling weighs on the president. we know that he likes watching his poll numbers. what is really going to weigh on a joe manchin or a heidi heitkamp is a private polling. what -- can they make this vote, if they vote no in a red state as a democrat up for re-election, can they thread that needle and can they get elected? so, that's what's happening. that's what the elected officials, and a lot of members of congress, too, the house, are all looking at their priv

alaska lisa murkowski said she decided how to vote on her way to the senate chamber to cast her vote. now, senator murkowski had women fly down from alaska to try to influence her vote and it seems as though they've succeeded. we will be talking to two of those women later in this hour. senate rules allow the video camera shots of individual senators only when those senators are on their feet speaking. and so there is no video of

then if collins is a no, manchin a no, murkowski at no.kavanaugh. >> dana: senator collins coming to the podium in about nine minutes. what do you think she's going to say? she just had lunch with mitch mcconnell. she expressed optimism afterwards. >> i would also look at joe manchin's vote. sometimes when senators vote to end debate which is what happened with manchin and collins. they don't always reflect that in the confirmation vote or vote on final passage. lot of senators will say always vote for cloture. i'll always vote to end debate. those two things don't always align. your guess is as good as mine. we thought if any democrat would, joe manchin would push this across the finish line. >> dana: how is it possible that senator murkowski is saying she's still on the fence. she voted no to end debate and she doesn't think he's the right man for the job. >> she sort of is undeclared. people are saying it would be hard for her to come back from that, come back from that vote where she voted no and come back from that statement and vote

what do you say to lisa murkowski? >> i haven't had a chance to talk to lisa. she was also in the room with us yesterday for about 2.5 hours as we went through the information and the testimony. i think she is trying to do her best to make a decision. once again, we are all united states senators and have an obligation to do what we think is right. there is a sense that senators arm twist and we really don't do that. we share and are there to talk with one another. we have points of view that we try to share, but you have to respect each other's rights to make the decision and allow that to happen. we all want that opportunity ourselves and we all want to protect that for our other members as well. it's up to lisa and we understand she has a tough decision to make. we wish she would come the other way, but she is working hard to do what she thinks is right. >> joe manchin of west virginia. >> same thing with joe. >> these are tough decisions for all 100 u.s. senators and we appreciate you joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> in just over an hour or so from now, w

lisa murkowski also a swing vote.e's a belief she may be a bit more circumspect in her support of the nominee. what about susan collins. what's motivating her today politically as she decides whether to support brett kavanaugh or not? >> you're right. i will say senator murkowski very briefly has been described to me as the wild card, she keeps her own counsel, hardest to whip. behind-the-scenes all eyes are on susan collins. people described her of doing absolutely all of her homework. i believe she's someone who met with judge kavanaugh early on in this process one-on-one for about an hour. she's reading reams of material, talking to as many people as possible. if you're leader mcconnell and sort of believe this is a man who deserves to be on the supreme court there's a slight reassurance in the idea that the more information she gets the more confident ultimately she will feel voting yes. but, again, you're right, no one actually knows right now. >> so noah rothman we can do a post mortem what this process was like

i think that a lot of the women -- i've not spend to lisa murkowski or susan collins about this but i've spoken to other women senators who watched that happened and were just absolutely blown away by the audacity that it took. i think for many of us women who are sometimes having conversations in public with men, you know, we're familiar with the phenomenon and for somebody who was trying to stlit a -- it is there and convince america he's someone that looks out for women was not a good look. >> it really would have been, i think, far better for him, if he had done that to dick durbin or done that to pat leahy or done that to a man. no. wasn't a good look, especially since amy klobuchar had shown, i think, about as much deference as any senator showed on either side to brett kavanaugh and dr. ford. so bob costa, where do we stand after all of this, the fbi investigation runs its course, if everybody stays in their box and if mark judge comes back and repeats the same things, if dr. ford's long time friend says i believe her but i wasn't there, do we -- murkowski and collins and flake, d

she's very thoughtful, as is lisa murkowski and as is joe manchin.k they did what they thought was right by the people in their own state. and i also think based upon the evidence, by and large, it was the right thing to do. it's very hard. a couple times i had to do it. i voted for the feinstein ban on the manufacturer of assault rifles in 1996. the next election i almost got beat. very unpopular at home, but it was the right thing to do. >> what would you have done in this case? >> you know, when i was in the senate, i voted for, i think, two republican supreme court nominees. i voted against three republican supreme court nominees. you got to call them as you see them. and some are pretty conservative. bork, i voted against. justice roberts i voted for. i thought he was a little more moderate conservative. in this case i think i would have voted against judge kavanaugh. all things considered, i think he's a little too partisan. >> and that's what many people said. they were -- the concern was that they were looking at this just as what was the cor

flake is a yes, murkowski is a no. collins and democratic senator joe manchin are the last remaining holdouts. collins will be the 50th vote if all the democrats go ahead and vote no along party lines. the republicans hold a 51-49 advantage in the senate. it only takes a simple majority for kavanaugh's nomination to advance and vice president mike pence can cast the deciding vote in the case of a 50-50 tie. as soon as senator collins begins her speech we will go back to the senate floor live. >>> while we keep an eye out for collins, markets are tumbling on this friday. the ten-year treasury yield hitting a new seven-year high as the unemployment rate hits its lo lowest level in almost 49 years. investors taking it as a sign the federal reserve will stick to its plan to gradually hike interest rates. the dow off its lows at the moment, down as much as 325 points in the session. meantime, let's take a look at individual movers. we have been tracking wholesale retailer costco, falling despite better than expected earning

you talked earlier about murkowski having meetings with alaskans.r collins been having meetings with mainers about this subject? >> she has. their phones have been ringing off the hook for weeks on this issue. collins for better or worse since the health care vote has been the senator in this congress that received the most focus from both sides. she's seen as a swing vote on almost everything. it is interesting to hear one woman in morgan's segment talking about the idea of maine as a state turning red. new england as a whole has been almost now completely blue. collins is the last republican to represent any new england state in the senate. used to be this whole separate breed of northeastern moderate republicanism that faded away in the last decade or so. you can see why that is and how challenging it is to be a republican moderate in this environment, so yeah. collins has been very engaged, been coming to her as aggressively as they can as much as alaskans, but this is a senator in the cross hairs of the debate. >> garrett, thank you so much. go

. >> miss murkowski. >> murkowski is a no. i am being told she's not voting to move forward. >> the yays are 51 and the no's are 59. >> i did not come to a motion of this until walking into the flow this morning. i believe brett kavanaugh is a good man. i believe he's a good man. it just may be that in my view he's not the right man for the court at this time. >> you are planning to vote tomorrow? >> it is a big change. >> it is a difficult decision for everybody. >> did our best. >> the facts presented do not mean 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 charges can fairly prevent judge kavanaugh from serving on the court. mr. president, i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. >> so shortly after senator collins announced her long awaited decision, the soul remaining undecided, joe mansion, voting yes to put kavanaugh on the high court. you can hea

and kcollins and murkowski are famously independent of the party labels when they both broke ranks to vote down obama care. and president trump is quiett today saying that the support of the procedural vote in the last hour. to break it down and the fast-moving developments, we have capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt, and peter alexander, and political director chuck todd, and moderator of "meet the press" and mtp daily and also "hardball" host chris matthews. and kasie, what did jeff flake say when he got into the car. >> indeed, breaking news from tracking jeff flake who says he is voting yes unless something changes, and we don't know what that would be, and so, he had announced that he was a yes on kavanaugh before we went into all of this back and forth about the fbi investigation, the one-week hold and that is last friday, and so to a certain extent, flake is being consistent here in that he believes that the fbi investigation did not show any corroborating evidence. sof that, you know, really abrupt switch from lisa murkowski and you could see the tension on the floor, and h

it's senator collins, murkowski and flake on the republican side. she can bemoan democrats all day long. that's not what is causing the white house heart burn. it's republican senators they have to get on board that they have not yet. >> it's whether the president's ridicule of christine blasey ford will impact those three -- >> murkowski said it would impact, flake said it wouldn't. but murkowski said yes. >> the white house coming out with a strong defense of president trump following his mocking of brett kavanaugh's accuser last night. three key undecided republican senators have now slammed those attacks of this woman by the president. ♪ ok here we go guys, you ready? hi! cinturones por favor. gracias. opportunity is everywhere. ♪ it's gonna be fine. it's a door... ♪ it's doing a lot of kicking down there. waiting to be opened. ♪ whatever your ambition... ♪ whatever your drive... ♪ whatever you're chasing... driver, are we almost there? we're gonna have a baby! ♪ daddy! daddy! opportunity is everywhere. ♪ all you have to do to find it is get out

democrats coming over to shake lisa murkowski's hand.a who joined democrats on voting no for judge kavanaugh. and susan collins has been wrestling with this decision, she has been meeting with constituents in her office trying to wrestle with what she was going to do. today, joining her party in supporting brett kavanaugh. >> jon karl, 51 votes to minimize the debate as we move forward and move closer to that final vote on brett kavanaugh. it's looking clearer by the moment that brett kavanaugh could be the next supreme court justice. they have to be happy over at the white house. >> absolutely. clear political impact here as well, david. if you look at the senators that were in play here, so many from states that donald trump carried dramatically, republicans believed that this vote has energized their core supporters, has energized their core supporters that makes the election looking a lot more positive for republicans in the senate races before this whole controversy over kavanaugh erupted. >> our thanks to all of you joining us for

. >>> and lisa murkowski was the only rep to vote against brett kavanaugh. she tried late last night to explain that vote. here is part of her speech. >> i am really worried that they becomes the new normal, where we find new and even more creative ways to tear one another down. it's got to end. this is not who we are. >> so, alex, that's lisa murkowski pushing back against a process that both senators have essential seen as a circus, now what we want confirmation politics to look like. we'll see this come to a conclusion in about four hours. >> can i ask you to clarify something? it's expected that lisa murkowski will use the word "present" not actually cast her vote. is that to counter steve daines, because he's at his daughter's wedding? >> this is an old-school senate procedural move in which a pairing, where two senators make a deal. so steve daines will stay in montana, and murkowski who said she was a no on the procedure vote, would have been a no today, will instead record her vote as present. it doesn't change the ratio, though it does change of tot

susan collins, lisa murkowski, and senator snowflake.ows tonight what they are going to do. they are not talking to anybody. signs that some might be questioning moving the bar about temperament, may become a well, did he not tell us exactly how much beer he drank. he threw ice in it incident in a bar when he was at yale. i used to be a bartender. that is probably the least significant thing that i saw what i was 17, 18, 19, and 20 tending bar. >> every single one of these senators on the judiciary committee, you need to read their job description. the judiciary committee was createdde to look out for constitutional issues. they are turning the constitution on its head. let me tell you, senator murkowski, she better be taking notes because she's an attorney, of the three you mention, she's the only attorney, and she should understand that brett kavanaugh walked in there guilty and had to prove his innocence, and she should understand that the court of public opinion can destroy someone, sometimes more than a criminal conviction can. thes

looks like they lost senator murkowski. so a lot of folks going to be paying careful attention to senator susan collins, who will be announcing her decision, her office says, at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. then more attention placed on retiring senator jeff flake. remember, he was the one who worked across the aisle with have chris coons, to the one-week review by the f.b.i. jedge kavanaugh, one step closer, clearing the procedural hurdle. final vote sometime tomorrow. voim and, kevin, just to point out that steven dennis, one of the congressional reporters, said that joe manchin voted yes to move forward to nomination. we don't know the outcome of tomorrow's full vote. for the moment, our thanks to bloomberg's kevin cirilli. guy: yeah, you can follow us on what is taking place in tliv go. , there is a explanation surrounding what's taking place in the senate. let's turn our attention back to the markets. climbing the k. highest in two years. brexit agreement may be near. liam fox said he would accept an imperfect brecksis --

murkowski. >> reporter: murkowski later explaining to reporters, quote, in my view he's not the rightan for the court at this time. despite immense pressure from both sides and even from their own colleagues. >> i have reached out to all three, to senator collins and to murkowski and to senator flake, but i also know that they are getting input from absolutely everywhere. >> reporter: and, wolf, with the votes in hand the final confirmation vote on judge brett kavanaugh should come some time tomorrow afternoon, but one of the broader questions even if and when he is confirmed is what happens next. what happens next for the u.s. senate as an institution? what happens next for the conversation the entire country has been having over the cost of the last couple of weeks. even what happens next with the supreme court. those are all questions that aides i've been talking to the last couple of days make very clear they don't have the answers to right now, wolf. >> phil, thank you very much. important questions indeed. president trump was among those watching the drama unfold on television.

the one person in play seems to be lisa murkowski. i spoke to her couple hours ago, she is getting down to quote, decision time. she has made no decision. here is one of the things up against in that room. murkowski said they can ask to look at the report, mainly how this is presented to the senators, the fbi has provided readers. in other words it is being read to them. if you have multiple senators in the room, they all can't be looking at same piece of paper. that is a process, melissa. melissa: murkowski i love it, keeping it closer to the vest than anything else. there is nothing new, i'm paraphrasing there was not corroboration. murkowski at this point she could be holding out for a diamond-studded bridge to anywhere in her district to drill for anything at anytime. >> there have been some folks pointed out she got anwr last year, drilling in alaska, which was a five back in 2005. it didn't get through. it got through at this time. at the end of the day look at voting base. you have to look where people are on both sides of the

ultimately it's going to come down to collins and murkowski. >> i think murkowski will be in trouble if she votes for him. >> in alaska? >> the republican lobbyist told me last night if susan collins votes against kavanaugh, her career is finished. we're putting a lot of pressure on these two women but, in fact, it's the entire gop senate who is responsible for this, and it's that leadership bullying them that's really the problem. >> we'll talk about this coming up. republicans see it one way, democrats see it another. will we ever really know what was in the fbi report? plus the fight may be energizing democrats right now but the big argument being made, it may also help republicans in the midterm. stay with us. made the first commercial wireless phone call. we were both working on that first network that would eventually become verizon's. that call opened the door to the billions of mobile calls that we've all made since. i'm proud i was part of that first call, and i'm proud that i'm here now as we build america's first and only 5g ultra wideband network that will transform how w