A Need to Know Basis: What Kavanaugh means for the future of the Supreme Court

The Senate confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court Oct. 6 in a 50-48 vote. It was one of the lowest number of votes of any SCOTUS confirmation in American history, second only to Stanley Matthews in 1881, according to the Senate’s records.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski would have been the only Republican vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation had she been present for the vote, and Sen. Joe Manchin was the only Democrat to vote yes. Besides these two votes, Kavanaugh’s confirmation was a clean split down the aisle, according to the New York Times.  

Despite her vote not being counted, President Trump has said that Murkowski will “never recover.”

“I think she will never recover from this,” Trump said. “I think the people from Alaska will never forgive her for what she did.”

Public opinion on Kavanaugh has been polarized since Palo Alto University psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford leveled a sexual assault allegation against him. During his hearing, political discourse reached a fever pitch.

Sueng Min Kim, a Congress beat reporter for the Washington Post, said that she had never seen a senator get as angry as Sen. Lindsey Graham did at the start of Kavanaugh’s hearing.

According to the Washington Post, Graham alleged that the Democratic party orchestrated Dr. Ford’s confession and told Congress, “If you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics.”

Kavanaugh also decried Ford’s testimony as a liberal attack, and when Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked if he had ever blacked out after too many beers, he replied, “Have you?”

Kavanaugh’s confirmation changes the makeup of SCOTUS, tipping the scales in conservatives’ favor. Before his confirmation, SCOTUS also had five Republicans and four Democrats, but Kavanaugh is replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, who served as a moderate swing vote, according to Fox News.

There were protests against his confirmation in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Following his confirmation, a large crowd of protesters rushed the front steps of the Supreme Court, chanting, "Hey hey, ho ho, Kavanaugh has got to go," according to CNN.