"senator collins political courage and class. brett kavanaugh is thought of very highly within the bush orbit. he was the former staff secretary to bush 43. >> neil: we're also hearing from chuck grassley that said i think senator collins, referring to her remarks, in the same spirit did more to expose the ugliness of the controversy around the kavanaugh nominating process than any other senator. i commend senator collins and i'm proud to have her support for a well-qualified nominee. if you think about it, senator collins said the release of this letter from dr. ford, she said it didn't come from senator feinstein but she reached across the aisle with roe v. wade. they said you have this guy pegged wrong. she really did lay out a different view and a rationale for supporting him. not that it necessarily moved a lot of minds, but a crucial couple. >> there were three sort of chapters, if you want to say, considering the length of the speech. the first is his judicial record. she laid out a handful of different instances and conce

but i will say this, i think suzanne collins it is amazing to see what has been done to suzanne collins by these leftist activists. i mean, calling and threatening her staff with rape -- they're basically -- they're protesting at suzanne collins house and threatening to harass and intimidate her at public restaurants. this is -- dismal dmaifer. >> but to me i'm suddenly like okay i'm going to dig in my heels further. i think sue son collins has that kind of temperament i don't think those threats as you point out terrible welcome bad for the process, i don't know if that will sway her. let me share with you what retired judge paul stevens has been saying about this. he's been commenting on judge kavanaugh's temperament that's been something that's come up repeatedly by many members of the left do we have that sound we can play that for you. here we go. >> i change any views -- as a federal judge and should have been confirmed when he was nominated. but i think that his performance during the hearings cause me to change my mind. >> all right so he's saying that hearings caused him to cha

today our government showed that with methodical thinking, what susan collins did, senator collins, and how she laid out her argument, using historical precedents, and really looking at the facts, i'm calling it for what it is, this is an innocent man, this is an innocent man, and he was being framed to some extent by the democratic party, and we stood up to that. and as a nation i think we really superseded that fear. we showed that we can do it and move forward. and i think that's what is important here. >> sean: sarah has, and john solomon and others, huge couple of breaking news stories next week, i can only mention that. >> right. >> sean: it's going to be big. you want to tune in. don't forget, judge jeannine pirro, tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. on the fox news channel. when we come back, ed henry with a live update on tomorrow's senate vote, historic senate vote. this place isn't for me. that last place was pretty nice. i don't like this whole thing. i think we can do better. change is hard. try to keep an open mind. come on, dad. this is for me, son? principal. we can help you plan

many of these people are consistents of susan collins -- constituents of susan collins. much of the constituency recognizes they have supported senator collins in the past. a lot of democrats have supported senator collins in the past. however, if she decides to vote yes and that's what her announcement is in the next few minutes, then they are likely not to forgive her and take away that kind of support. that just gives you an idea of the weight that is on the maine senator's shoulders right now. especially with what you just mentioned with a yes and a no from her colleagues. what will she do? she's in a very difficult spot here and she understands she has a very heavy political price to pay regardless what she does. does she vote yes to please some of her gop colleagues in washington or does she vote no so she can continue to hold on to this bipartisan support. that's what's happening on the ground in senator collins' district. her office is right across the street. they are very vocal and passionate, hoping she gets the message as she prepares to give that very import

today our government showed that with methodical thinking, what susan collins did, senator collins, and how she laid out her argument, using historical precedents, and really looking at the facts, i'm calling it for what it is, this is an innocent man, this is an innocent man, and he was being framed to some extent by the democratic party, and we stood up to that. and as a nation i think we really superseded that fear. we showed that we can do it and move forward. and i think that's what is important here. >> sean: sarah has, and john solomon and others, huge couple of breaking news stories next week, i can only mention that. >> right. >> sean: it's going to be big. you want to tune in. don't forget, judge jeannine pirro, tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. on the fox news channel. when we come back, ed henry with a live update on tomorrow's senate vote, historic senate vote. so i can buy from enterprise car sales and you'll take any trade-in? that's right! great! here you go... well, it does need to be a vehicle. but - i need this out of my house. (vo) with fair, transparent value for every trad

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but senator collins said no. this is about presumption of innocence and the reason i am going to vote yes. what do you make of what this has done to the due process of every future nominee seeking high office? >> that is why i thought it was important that brett cavanagh be confirmed because if not this is the new standard by which we live, any man anyplace anytime can be totally shamed and destroyed and vilified and lose their career by things that are said with no basis in reality or foundation of truth. that is why it is important to have facts and importance of presumption of innocence. >> have a happy saturday and join us this afternoon for the confirmation vote. still and the countdown to confirmation, live coverage from washington as we await the vote to confirm brett kavanaugh. >> miss 80s schlapp, can do so in, they are all here coming up, have your coffee and stay with us. we just got married. we're all under one roof now. congratulations. thank you. how many kids? my two. his three. along with two dogs

molly ringwald wrote susan collins, you are a betrayer of women. prior to the speech other celebrities also weighed in on the confirmation process. >> a more thorough investigation of the contestants on the bachelor than the supreme court. i have interviewed more people this week than the fbi. >> comedian amy schumer took her outrage directly to capitol hill. >> a vote for brett cavanagh is a vote saying women don't matter. let's stay together, let's fight, let's keep showing up. >> going back to alyssa milano the actress had a warning for men who assault women. >> we will not be silenced any longer. of that means men have a hard time, i am sorry, this is the way the pendulum has to shift. >> a movie director and activist, rob reiner, also made the point that brett kavanaugh's seemingly inevitable nomination shows that elections matter, ending his tweet with and plea to vote on november 6th. that vote sentiment is one thing republicans and democrats may be able to agree on tonight. >> it may be the only thing. hollywood celebrities leading the resi

for senator collins to vote no. morgan's in bangor, maine, to get a sense of what voters are thinking, what they're saying. morgan, what have you found? >> reporter: well, craig, we do know that all eyes right now are on washington, but here in bangor, maine, all eyes are on their senator, and that's susan collins. as you mentioned, she's one of the biggest question marks in how this kavanaugh vote is going to go, and the reaction here is intense. it's personal, and it's very, very split. in fact, 49% of the state in a recent poll said they do not want her to vote to confirm brett kavanaugh, even you can see two of the local papers op-eds, this is from collins' former congressional staffers. they're saying you shouldn't vote to put a man in office in the supreme court desk who has misled the senate. 42% of the state, to show how tight this is, they said they think she should say yes. terry, you are a registered republican, correct? >> i am. >> did you vote for senator collins? >> i did. >> how do you want her to vot

if collins votes no on kavanaugh, donors credit cards will not be charged. if she votes yes, the money will fund her democratic opponent when she runs for reelection in to 2020. the fund is already up to nearly $2 million. >> she's thinking about a long career in public service so the idea that she would tune into this differently misunderstands the way susan collins comes at us. >> i've heard senator collins dismiss our efforts and advocacy as bribery. it is people power. it is more than 60,000 donors pledging small dollar numbers towards a candidate who would actually represent them. >> reporter: marie follayttar says the pledge money has come in from mainers energized in part by phone bank efforts like this one. >> you'd like her to vote no on kavanaugh. >> if collins votes to confirm kavanaugh, we will absolutely defeat her and that's a promise. >> reporter: last night, a group gets on a bus to d.c., one final push. this morning, on the steps of the supreme court. >> the great people from the great state of maine. >> reporter: marie with one last message

susan collins is concerned. chuck schumer is speaking on the floor. >> and finally, the dam broke under the weight of credible allegations that judge kavanaugh committed a sexual assault in high school. in 2018, the republican majority conducted a hearing that made the anita hill hearings in 1991 look fair by comparison. in this hearing, there were no corroborating witnesses on either side. no independent investigation of the facts to inform the questioning. they even hired an outside counsel to put a witness, dr. ford, on trial. only at the 11th hour urging a breakaway members of their caucus, republicans submitted reluctantly to a one-week investigation of the allegations. an investigation which was then severely circumscribed by the white house. our republican friends blame us for this process. they're always finding a strawman, but nothing could be further from the truth. first, they blame us for delay. knowing full well that majority leader mcconnell has complete control of when nominees are brought to the

collins chairs a standing committee on aiming. lisa is a powerful figure within the republican and i don't see her being punished for this. she made a gracious move toward steve daines tonight saying she would vote present to do what's called a pairing essentially to allow steve daine subpoena to stay away. she wanted it to be a big statement about how these nominations should be handled with more grace and class. >> jonathan, you get the quick last word. i know you love redictions. who benefits the most from this in 30 or so days at the midterms? >> the republicans definitely benefit on the substance of having the guy on the supreme court. as far as the energy goes, i think it's going to be hard for republicans 0 sustain this. i think democrats will be angry. there is no issue that republicans can pivot to as unifying it for this one for them. it got curve on board. immigration is not like that. maybe tax cuts would be like that, but they've done a big tax cut. i think republicans have to figure out a way to try to sustain that e

collins was going. they felt relieved that flake indicated he'd be a yes but they knew this was still on the head of a pin. they knew the words of senator murkowski, the words of senator heitkamp yesterday who said she couldn't vote for judge kavanaugh and still look herself in the mirror. they knew those words would be ringing in the ears of senator collins as she considered this. and they were just hugely relieved when she finally took to the floor today and gave a speech that did not betray any actual personal ambivalence about this but sounded like a wholehearted boiler plate republican defense of this nominee. >> eli, was there any sense that the president almost blew it when at a rally last night he called al franken basically a folded wet rag for resigning after he was accused of sexual misconduct when a few nights earlier, he went out and mocked professor ford in another rally speech? it seems he's inching toward a he he too message for himself that's going to have him grab them in the bleep in

collins' vote crucial to kavanaugh's future. she's one of two undecided senators and if she votes no, it is unclear if there are enough votes to push kavanaugh into the highest court in the land. there were four senate holdouts but in the last few hours, republican senators jeff flake, lisa murkowski have gone public. 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

three of them are collins,

wade is set law as he said to collins. but we know there are lots of states, texas, louisiana, that are very busy passing all kinds of laws that would limit a woman's right to choose. and many of these will go to the supreme court. whether there will be a justice kavanaugh with his -- i know that he is not a supporter of reproductive choice. so he will be sitting there making those decisions that will probably support all of these limiting laws that will be passed by these states. >> so what's next, senator, for democrats like you and others who oppose judge kavanaugh? are there any other options down the road? >> you know, i am more determined than ever to let everybody know that court packing will continue. the federalist society and heritage foundation have spent decades grooming people to fill the district courts seats, and circuit court seats and obviously now a supreme court seat with their very ideologically driven, out come-driven judges. and that is happening. so the battles will continue. >> as you know, senator,

bush tweeting, senator collins' political courage and class. but the criticism was just as swift and cut just as deep. planned parenthood's political arm out of maine tweeted during collins' speech the following. you don't get to see you believe dr. christine blasey ford and then vote to put her assailant on the supreme court and added this. collins had her chance and she chose not to stand with women. the senate will vote in less than 24 hours from now and barring the unexpected, and, yes, we have seen a lot, judge kavanaugh will become justice kavanaugh very soon. justify zeleny is "outfront" for us tonight at the white house. jeff, what is the president's reaction tonight? >> reporter: well, kate, for as loud as the protests were on capitol hill, you could hear them echoing through the halls there, the silence here at the white house all day long was interesting as well. the president did not speak publicly, but behind the scenes, i'm told he was watching every minute of that 45-minute speech on the senate floor from senator susan collins. t

. >> collins cast kavanaugh as a centrist. so much so she noted she sided with left leaning judge merritt garland on 95% of decisions. kavanaugh presently sits with garland on the d.c. circuit court of appeals. collins' reasoning most democrats were good with garland, why shouldn't they be good with kavanaugh. merit garland personifies the rage over the kavanaugh nomination. senate republicans never granted garland a hearing when president obama nominated him to replace scalia, eventually filling that seat with gorsuch. the confirmation of gorsuch and now kavanaugh means that republicans stole a seat from their side. that could tip the balance of the court to the conservative. shannon? >> shannon: thank you very much, chad. in announcer her support for judge kavanaugh, susan collins pointed to what she calls his centrist views. doesn't mean he will, won't be a reliable conservative vote, something else. who better to ask than republican senator from utah mike lee, sits on the senate committee. you will cast your vote tomorrow.

i asked for reaction as susan collins was speaking. i got a four-word response during the time of the collins speech. it was this, quote, this speech is outstanding. very clearly a relief here from this white house or for this white house, rather. they were very confident throughout the day before the procedural vote earlier this morning and even after it, especially, that this would go their way. but now it is apparent that republicans at the minimum here appear to have 51 votes and the press secretary, sarah sanders, echoed those comments about susan collins speech by saying quote, thank you, senator collins, for standing by your convictions and doing the right thing to confirm judge kavanaugh. we have yet to hear, though, from the president himself. no official statement or tweet from the president. when you think about this, this could not have gone any better for this white house. yesterday evening, brett kavanaugh himself published an op-ed in the "wall street journal" which was essentially his closing argument going into this da

susan collins did not just say she was voting yes. she gave the closing argument and if you are mitch mcconnell or donald trump, you could not ask for much better of a closing argument than from a woman on the left who really stood up to the president on the health care vote, coming back defending kavanaugh on his jurisprudence and the charges against him from dr. ford. that's a strong closing argument and to have joe mansion who was always going to find a way to be on the winning side of this issue which ever side that was come out and be the lone democrat to make this endorsement to allow republicans to say this is bipartisan. her endorsement of kavanaugh also answers the question you put to michael schmitt maybe you can turn jeff flake into a no vote but not susan collins. >> shannon, it is interesting tonight of the left leaning media are finding ways not to question how schumer lost one of his flocks as the conservative media are finding ways not to point out that mcconnell lost one of his. what is the white house reaction? >> a

susan collins. it's a 50/50 tie and the vice president, mike pence, he breaks the tie in favor of confirmation. so in order for the defeat of kavanaugh as a united states supreme court justice, both flake and collins have to flip. because it's unlikely joe manchin or certainly lisa murkowski are going to flip. >> manchin can't be the deciding vote. >> he doesn't want to be the deciding vote. >> he wasn't the 50th vote today. he was the 51st. >> yeah. that's right. he was the 51st. the only thing i will say about the sort of idea of manchin voting yes now, hard to see him switching, that's my instinct, i'm waiting to hear back to see if that's the actual case. but he could make the argument, just saying, manchin could make the argument, what this is, this is -- be careful to use the technical terms but it's a procedural vote in order to allow the process to go forward. that's the sort of simplest way to say it. he could make the argument, i didn't want to block him from getting a final vote. but i wa

well, does it boil down to your colleague susan collins? >> well, you know, i was here of course during the affordable care act debate in the last summer when everybody thought that all was lost as i was heading to that vote, and it seemed as if the repeal was going to move forward and then a all of the sudp en, it wasn't, and john mccain changed his vote, and susan and lisa obvious ly remained as no votes, so i am not going to give up until that final vote tomorrow. i know that susan's speech today later is going to be important o one, but i will be on the floor of the senate all night tonight with some of the colleagues to try to make the case that the damage that is going to be done to the credibility of the supreme court is too immense to push it through to the finish. so i know that it feels as if it is, you know, more than likely than not that kavanaugh will be confirmed, but it felt more likely than not that the affordable care act would be repealed before that vote. >> and this is more intense because of the involving sex, and drink

senator collins reviewed brett kavanaugh's denial of dr. ford's accusation as if the denial was a fact because brett kavanaugh said it under oath. >> judge kavanaugh forcefully denied the allegations under penalty of perjury. mark judge denied under penalty of felony that he had witnessed an assault. >> so dr. ford accused two people of committing a crime, two people of attempting to rape her. brett kavanaugh and mark judge. and susan collins is very impressed by the two accused criminals denying the crime under oath. that's what accused criminals do. every day. susan collins did not just give brett kavanaugh the presumption of innocence, she also gave him the presumption of honesty. she presumed brett kavanaugh was telling the truth. and possibly even worse, she presumed that mark judge was telling the truth. a man who has said that he was a blackout alcoholic in high school at the time of this accusation and therefore obviously was involved in and participated in all sorts of events in his life that he does not remember. republicans alway

today, susan collins would have given him the presumption of innocence, but susan collins did not give him the presumption of innocence, said he should resign, without one minute of investigation, susan collins threw that presumption away and said senator franken should resign. the senate has never used the presumption of innocence standard with nominees. never, for any position. many nominees have been forced to withdraw for much less than what brett kavanaugh was accused of and so senator collins' attempt to attach her vote to a sacred principle of presumption of innocence in the occupation senate was not really what she was doing today. presumption of innocence was a convenient tool for her to cite today. don't expect susan collins to use the presumption of innocence tomorrow if a democratic senator faces accusations. senator collins reviewed brett kavanaugh's denial of dr. ford's accusation as if the denial was a fact because brett kavanaugh said it under oath. >> judge kavanaugh forcefully denied the allegations under penalty of perjury. mark judge denied under penalty of felony t

as collins spoke. the man we elected president says the women telling their stories of surviving sexual assaults are all lying, paid professionals paid for by george soros, the mainstream view of susan collins' republican party. >> do you believe george soros is behind all of this, paying these people to get you and your colleagues in elevators or wherever they can get in your face. >> i tend to believe it. it fits in his attack mode that he has. >> there is no evidence for that, we should note. chuck grassley, susan collins -- all have the same message today, we don't believe you or we believe you and we don't care. the stakes could not be more crystal clear. with me now is senator mazie hirono. your reaction, senator, what happened today? >> i was particularly disappointed with senator collins because she is a person who has said that she is very concerned about women's reproductive rights and she cited to a case which she didn't name where judge kavanaugh at bottom said catholic church, you folks, y

. >> senator collins, please vote no! >> the sergeant in arms will restore order in the gallery -- >> senator collins is trying to walk a fine line. she is a woman, she's been pressured by women. there were women in the gallery shouting "defend women" as she began her speech. >> reporter: collins lamenting the process that brought her here. >> today we have come to the conclusion of a confirmation process that has become so dysfunctional, it looks more like a caricature of a gutter-level political campaign. >> reporter: she praised kavanaugh's legal expertise and said she believes the fbi investigation does not prove that the judge sexual assaulted dr. ford. >> the facts presented do not mean 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. >> reporter: having laid out her thoughts she

collins revealed her decision. >> collins: i will vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. i am comfortable with the decision that i made. i spent an enormous amount of time in the first part of the confirmation process studying the judge's 12-year record as a circuit court judge. i was satisfied at that point, started working on the speech, and then these devastating allegations are made that sends the whole thing into a tailspin. >> i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. >> pelley: it was the testimony of dr. christine blasey ford that left republican collins with severe doubts. >> collins: i had read her anonymous letter, or her redacted letter, and questioned judge kavanaugh about it over the phone in a subsequent interview. >> pelley: when you talked to judge kavanaugh privately on the phone about the letter, what did he say? >> collins: he categorically and emphatically denied the allegations. >> pelley: when you saw dr. ford's testimony, what did you think? >> collins: she was clearly terrified, traumatized, and i believed that a sexual assault

among them senator susan collins who we were just talking about. she is said to announce her ultimate decision on the supreme court nominee in one hour on the senate floor. another senator to watch is joe manchin. a democrat from west virginia who may support trump's nominee. right now he is in the undecided column. senator lisa murkowski, a republican who voted against letting the vote on kavanaugh advance to the floor this morning. that likely signals she will be a vote no tomorrow. earlier tay

susan collins holds all the cards. if she's a yes on brett kavanaugh, he is likely the next associate justice of the supreme court. big picture, there's four key senators today. three of them are collins, joe manchin and jeff flake voted yes today. jeff flake said he will vote to confirm kavanaugh unless something big happens. susan collins hasn't said how she will vote on the actual nomination. we're watching the republican senator lisa murkowski of alaska. she voted against advancing kavanaugh's nomination. normally if you go against your own party in the motion to proceed, you'll stay the course and do it again in the motion to confirm. she also said today kavanaugh is in her view maybe not the right man for the court at this time. the truth is, the republicans don't really need her. if susan collins votes yes, that is likely the whole ball game. down this home stretch, top senators are making a final push on the senate floor. >> what left wing groups and their democratic allies have done to judge kavanaugh so nothi

after senator collins voted yes and we have the window that goes when we hear from collins. you never know. >> they were together on voting against health care, if you recall. they are friends. the thing that's interesting about senator murkowski is she doesn't owe the leadership anything. she would not be in the senate if she left it to the leadership. she lost a primary and came back and ran. remember the bracelets she had for natives in alaska so they would know how to write in her name and spell it properly. she never gave up and she won. it wasn't because the leadership in the senate was behind her. now she has spoken with mcconnell clearly. we know that. somebody at cnn reported that today. you know, i don't think he was ever counting on her. he didn't get her on health care and he knew this was an important issue for her personally. >> the native alaskan issue. >> absolutely. great support. >> when it comes to collins, an important thing to remember is that the process is part of what she is concerned about. it was wise of jeff flake to push for that, even if -- and t

susan collins did not just say she was voting yes. she gave the closing argument and if you are mitch mcconnell or donald trump, you could not asked much of a better argument who at time stood up to the president on the healthcare vote coming back and defending kavanaugh on his jurisprudence and the charges against him from dr. ford. that's a strong closing argument and to have joe mansion who was always going to find a way to be on the winning side of this issue which ever side that was come out and be the loan democrat to make this endorsement to allow republicans to say this is bipartisan. her endorsement of kavanaugh also answers the answer you put to michael schmidt, everyomaybe can turn jeff flake into a no vote but not susan collins. >> shannon, it is interesting tonight of the left leaning media are finding ways not to question how schumer lost one of his flocks as the conservative media are finding way to point out that mcconnell lost one of his. smoo wh sm what is the white house reaction? >> a lot of relief and excitement i

maine senator susan collins did not make the call. like the rest of us they learned of her decision this afternoon in real time. >> senator susan collins sealed the confirmation of judge kavanaugh. sarah sanders tweeted thank you susan collins for doing the right thing to confirm judge kavanaugh. president bush lobbied other senators to approve kavanaugh who worked in his white house. his father tweeted: senator collins, political courage and class. while the fbi investigation found no corroborating evidence of wrongdoing on kavanaugh's part, his forceful and emotional testimony last week raised questions about his temperament. john paul stevens said that changed how he viewed kavanaugh. >> he should have been confirmed. i think his performance during the hearings caused me to change my mind. >> last night kavanaugh addressed those concerns in a "wall street journal"op-ed. writing i might have been too emotional. going forward you can count on me to be the same kind of judge in person i have been for my entire 28 year legal career. ha

republican senator susan collins of maine in a dramatic senate

president trump was indeed watching senator collins' speech. he's no doubt pleased with how she ended it. >> jim, there's no question about it. we are told that the president was watching the speech, just off the oval office in the dining room. he was actually going to be signing an faa reauthorization bill. he had some house members over, but he asked them if they wanted to watch it, so they all watched it together. he's describ he's described in a very good mood, and he has a concerted legacy on the supreme court, getting a second appointment in just his second year in the presidency is extraordinary. >> so the president was largely a bystander, but certainly was pleased at senator collins' speech on the senate floor. >> and i understand you heard there was a president who lobbied senator collins, but it wasn't president trump. >> that's right, jim. we are learning that a short time ago, president george w. bush was on the phone with several senators, including susan collins, trying to reassure her of any concerns she had about judge kavanaug

back to the general point susan collins made. a president is entitled to his or her choice on the supreme court, and she never voted against an appointee. i think that americans need to realize in this debate is that regardless of whether you come down center right or center left, if the judge is qualified, if he's thoughtful and learned, he or she deserves to be confirmed. this was a lesson to americans and to me today. it was a profound and emotional moment for this senator to listen to. liz: what line jumped out at you the most of. susan collins is saying judge kavanaugh is not going to give special protection to president trump when it comes to the mueller probe. >> she went point by point to explain why that's true. i think one of the main things -- one of the pain important points she made was the standard of proof. you didn't have to prove an allegation against judge kavanaugh by beyond a reasonable doubt. but at least the charge should be more likely to be true than not. and she conclude a sympathetic a witness as dr. for

if collins joins the yes column, this is a done deal. kavanaugh will become the next associate justice of the supreme court of the united states of america. if she says no, it's all going to come down to the other undecided senator, democrat joe manchin of west virginia. let's bring in my panel. joining me now, host of msnbc hard ball, chris matthews. presidential historian, msnbc contributor john meacham, professor at vanderbilt university. moments from now we're going to cover it closely when susan collins takes the floor of the united states senate to announce her decision. chris, it will come in the form of a speech. she may not say it off the top. why do you think it is happening this way, what do you think she will do? >> i don't know why she's stretched it out like this. she voted for cloture. looks like the republicans will add two seats to the supreme court, and probably have an opportunity next two years to do it again. looks like the senate will hold. they're in very strong position to really give the shape of the supreme cour

we do know that susan collins is in there. she was spotted by a number of reporters going into the briefing. we know that jeff flake is in there as well. we believe lisa murkowski is in there as well. we await to see whether the two other democratic senators who are at risk of defecting, who may defect, and may consider supporting judge brett kavanaugh, heidi heitkamp and joe manchin, when they will get briefed, but on the democratic side, a smaller group has been briefed on this. the senate judiciary committee members after talking to the staff. we'll wait until the full democratic caucus to see when they get their briefing, but all happening very rapidly on this pivotal day. >> i'm going to stick with you longer as we wait for them to come out of the doors. here's a bit from chuck grassley, what he said, he did not read the document himself. he was briefed by staff on this. he said there's nothing in it that we didn't already know. these uncorroborated accusations have been unequivocally and repeatedly rejected by judge kava

mur kokowski voting yes, and collins no. >> susan collins well knew she had to make her reasons before making that pronouncement for sure. the 45 minutes you talk about, mike. thank you. we'll see a lot of you today. thank you for that. bring in our panel. jonathan allen and lauren baron lopez with a welcome to you both. jonathan, look, you write about senator susan collins. what is the read how they came to her decision? yes, chronicled that in the 45-minute leadup to where she stated what she was going to do, but your takeaway from all of this is what? >> my takeaway is twotwofold. first of all, something implicit at odds she said with what some republican suggested, certainly republican voters i've talked to lately traveling around the country for trump rallies. that is that she basically seemed to be saying that if she believed brett kavanaugh had attempted to rape christine blasey ford she would have been a no vote, and that may not have been true for some of the other republican senators. the other important thing to take away from it is what she basically said is that she doesn'

we will see what collins says. is this top of mind for her and something he will bring a partisanship to the court? you mentioned that the audience was the court itself and must have been concerned looking at such a display. we have never seen that. >> you covered the have supreme court. have you ever seen a nominee write an op-ed and do a television interview and come out so angrily? >> we have never seen any of that. what was so interesting in that op-ed is he was trying to get back to the judge kavanaugh that came out long before the allegations. i have been on the bench for 12 years and have 300 opinions and tried to push away the earlier time in his life when he served in the white house. he served for ken star. he knows that he needed to do that for collins and for flake and people who just couldn't abide by some of that political language he used. he it to do that. >> the political fallout can be significant. >> it's something we will see immediately. we are close enough to the mid-terms that any momentum th

that is why collins supported him. ifwould be a real explosion someone as liberal as ruth bader ginsburg or stephen breyer, if they were going to be replaced by a trump pic. without for as pro-life during the campaign, they would be pressure on susan collins and lisa murkowski and joe manchin to hold the line. this will happen after the midterm election. we will see what happens. do republicans expand the majority? in which case collins will not be as important anymore. and are a bunch of racists won by largep margins. heidi heitkamp will vote against kavanaugh today. that will be the death nail of her campaign. republicans are pulling money out of her state. if republicans pick up more --ts, certainly the court the future of the court to be dramatically changed going forward if rick bader ginsburg or stephen breyer retires. that is not lost on candidates this election. next month will be litigated on the court and we will see how that plays. i think the conventional wisdom is even though house members don't vote on su

susan collins was a yes. she will maybe the official announcement 3:00 if she is yes or no on brett kavanaugh. joe manchin was defector on other side of the aisle. he voted yes, the vote was 51-49. neil, there is important point, not that long ago, march of 2017 it used to take 60 votes to end debate on a supreme court nominee. last year senate majority leader mitch mcconnell he did something, he established a new precedent called "nuclear option" ii. he didn't change the rules but lowered the bar to end filibusters on supreme court nominees because he was having trouble with the filibuster to get neil gorsuch confirmed. so he lowered the bar from 60 to 51. if we operated by the old rules or old precedent, judge kavanaugh would not be on track to be confirmed tomorrow afternoon. 51-49. that is where neil gorsuch got on the high court but now it is looking much better for brett kavanaugh. neil: lisa murkowski said she has not made up her mind, when she voted no on the whole cloture thing that telegraphed a no

they are proud of susan collins for doing the right thing. they think that her viewing this in black and white, rather, was a better thing. and i don't agree with that. i just feel that this was a sad moment where susan collins really showed her true colors and she couldn't put country over party because she knew what was at stake. >> what you said about brett kavanaugh being a fine pick and then you changed your mind based on what you said. you're echoing in many ways the sentiments expressed by lisa murkowski. you said she couldn't vote for him for the same reason. she didn't think he was a fair inju jurist and that sort of thing and said he was not the man for this time. if that's the case, do you think that is not necessarily reflecting how people voted, but that that may be something that lingers, that sort of thought in the minds of these senators and others on capitol hill as they look at now this new justice on the supreme court? >> no, that's not going to linger because i've asked those very questions of the republican women that i'v

i have a great amount of respect for senator collins. but i just think she is going to be sorely disappointed when a year from now brett kavanaugh writes the decision overturning roe v. wade. she has this opinion of him as a great moderating bridge-building voice on the court that belies his body of jurisprudence. ultimately i think that speech will live on, but it's going to be pretty embarrassing when brett kavanaugh is the deciding vote to criminalize abortion in this country. >> let's talk about that, criminalize means you put women in jail for having an abortion? that's what he said? >> listen, this idea that he is going to respect stare decisis, is ridiculous, he was vetted by the heritage foundation and others to make sure that ultimately he would be the deciding vote to overturn roe v. wade. that's just what's going to happen. >> how many republicans, 51 out of 100, how many do you think really, really, when you get down to it under sodium pentathol want to outlaw abortion, much less criminalize it? >> i obviously take them at th

heitkamp and collins as collins being one of the more liberal republicans, heigtkamp being a more conservative democrat, they work together on a lot of thichgs athichg things and find themselves central on a lot of debates. i think the way they view these issues are similar if not exactly the same. so, yes, i think heitkamp's personal closeness here -- this is the great thing about the senate. this is a small body, these people know each other. that personal closeness matters. and politically heitkamp's no vote makes it harder for joe manchin. >> i will intervurupt you. as it turns out, we have confirmed jeff flake is a yes on the cloture vote. he has now voted, i'm being told. that's confirmed. he will move forward now along with susan collins to continue -- to move to this final vote on brett kavanaugh. >> hang on. hang on. sorry, i was trying to listen to one other thing. i'm trying to hear what murkowski's vote is here. 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

fund-raising to oust collins. she doesn't have an announced candida candidate, but they got plenls to whoever the opponent end up being. that site crashed. the only democrat backing manchin was also protested today. >> shame! shame! shame! >> the efforts come after larger protests that led to over 300 arrests and strategists said the heated battle energize each of the protests. the blue line is the overall congressional trend across multiple polls in the mid-terms. democrats have been gaining lately after a dip this summer. the former chair of the democratic national committee, howard dean and leader of pro choice america which has been part of the protests. if the vote count holds, kavanaugh is headed for the supreme court. what do you do now? >> well, right now, what i wrote on my facebook page is scream, donate to those who stood with us and against who seem like we won't. tomorrow we rally and sunday we start organizing for november. i keep saying this because it's crucially important. november is coming. and

senator collins is here to explain her vote, next. and we'll get a response from judiciary committee democrat maise hirono in minutes. >>> plus, final stretch, with a month to the midterm elections, both sides are trying to get out the vote. > will the bruising fight for the court rev up the base? >> the democrats have become too extreme and too dangerous to govern. >> ohio governor john kasich will be here in moments. >>> and first lady melania trump embarks on a goodwill tour to after rick wra. even an ocean couldn't keep her out of the political fray. >> i'm glad that dr. ford was heard. >> how is melania trump handling the world stage solo? >>> hello, i'm dana bash in for jake tapper in washington where the state of our union is still bitterly divided, after one of the most bruising confirmation fights ever. last night, brett kavanaugh was sworn in as the united states supreme court justice, ending the delicate balance on the nation's highest court, serving a conservative majority and delivering president trump a resounding win on

senator collins was outstanding. you had part of her speech in the entry. >> laura: the democrats raised just during her speech almost $2 million on a gofundme page for an undetermined candidate and susan collins is apparently seriously -- susan rice, excuse me, entertaining a challenge against senator collins in 2020. >> senator collins will be well funded, i can assure you. there's a lot of enthusiasm on our side, too. you may not have noticed, rising enthusiasm among republican voters. i think our people are going to be just as fired-up as theirs. everybody is going to remember what they did to brett kavanaugh. >> laura: is this the shot in the arm that the republicans needed? >> absolutely. absolutely. it is, it's wakeup call to why it's important to hold the senate. the senate is in the personnel business. i love the house but the senate is in the personnel business. if you want to get judges confirmed, cabinet members confirmed, boards and commissions confirmed, we have to control the senate. so the president's