Controversial Kavanaugh confirmation shakes up the country

America is likely in for some drastic political change.  On Saturday, October 6, Senate Republicans officially confirmed President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with a vote of 50-48.

Since Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh on July 10, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Kavanaugh’s alleged history of sexual misconduct.  Claims made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, Julie Swetnick, and an anonymous woman who sent a letter to a senator sparked an FBI investigation into Kavanaugh’s history.  Though Kavanaugh denies all of the allegations, the now-completed internal investigation had the potential to reveal otherwise.

Prior to Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Senators rotated in and out of a secure room in the Capitol to read a copy of the 1000-page FBI report. Though Senate Republicans claimed that the report holds no new information, Democrats asserted that it is incomplete. “The most notable part of this report is what’s not in it,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  

Some key senators who were crucial in the confirmation vote went back-and-forth about what to believe, and, according to CBS News, never even finished reading the report.  Democratic Senator Cory Booker, after finishing his own assessment of the report, believes that it contained “hints of misconduct” by Kavanaugh. How senators viewed the information held in the report could very well have been a determining factor in Kavanaugh’s successful confirmation.   The slim 51-49 majority that Republicans currently hold in the Senate was enough to just barely win the simple majority vote.

Despite what information the report holds, Kavanaugh’s confirmation is sure to upset not only the many protesters who have bombarded the Capitol since allegations of sexual assault first emerged, but the population of liberal Americans as a whole.  Kavanaugh’s appointment has successfully allowed conservatives to secure a 5-4 majority on the Court, and with Ruth Bader Ginsburg aging steadily, Trump may have another chance to further conservative control within the next couple years.

With Kavanaugh’s alleged history of sexual misconduct coming to light in a culture shaken by the #MeToo movement, and a now-guaranteed conservative legacy for the Supreme Court, hopefully America will discover that its senators voted wisely.

 Article by Moco Student staff writer Elena Moore of Damascus High School