Why Senator Lisa Murkowski Voted "No" on Brett Kavanaugh
One of few previously undecided votes in the Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) ultimately voted to oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court on Friday morning. And she did not have her mind made up until the very last second; Murkowski told reporters she didn't know her decision even as she walked onto the Senate floor.
"I believe Brett Kavanaugh is a good man," Murkowski told a group of reporters, according to HuffPost. "In my view, he’s not the right man for the court at this time." She added that she believed the confirmation process has been unfair, and expressed concern about the politicization of the judiciary.
Murkowski, considered a centrist or "moderate" Republican, was among a group of senators who had called for a delay in Kavanaugh's confirmation process in early September, when Ford first came forward. Murkowski also requested that the Senate hear testimony from a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, who came forward with more allegations of assault against Kavanaugh in a New Yorker story.
In recent days, Murkowski met with sexual assault survivors who had flown from Alaska to Washington D.C. to speak with her. And even just last night, a group of more than 350 female attorneys from Alaska wrote a joint letter to Murkowski, as well as Dan Sullivan (Alaska's other senator, also a Republican), urging them to oppose Kavanaugh's nomination, according to the Daily News Miner.
As the New York Times reports, Murkowski was among four senators whose votes are considered crucial for Kavanaugh's confirmation, or for it to fall short. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (Arizona)-who caused a stir in last week's hearing by calling for the FBI investigation, seeming to indicate he was less decided on Kavanaugh's confirmation-told reporters he now plans to vote yes on Kavanaugh's confirmation, barring unforeseen circumstances. And Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-West Virginia) crossed party lines and was the only Democrat to vote yes to move ahead to the final vote.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the final undecided Senator, voted to move ahead to the final confirmation vote, but stopped short of disclosing whether or not she'll vote yes again at that point, according to the New York Times. Collins is scheduled to announce her final decision in a final Senate vote at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
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