The Senate Judiciary Committee is voting on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. A full Senate vote on the nomination is expected as early next week. Watch the proceeding live, courtesy of NPR.
The vote comes after Thursday's day-long hearing when California professor Christine Blasey Ford testified that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh also testified and denied Ford's allegations.
If the committee votes to advance Kavanaugh, the Senate could begin taking procedural votes over the weekend ahead of a final confirmation vote early next week.
The vote is scheduled to begin around 1:30 p.m.
Several Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of a hearing Friday morning after the GOP chair set a vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. Kamala Harris of California, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island protested the vote, which was approved by the committee's Rpublican majority.
Republicans blocked Democratic efforts to subpoena a high school friend of Kavanaugh, who has been described as a witness to the alleged assault. The committee's 11 Republicans voted against the motion, while all 10 Democrats voted for it.
Democrats say Mark Judge has never been interviewed by the FBI or questioned by a member of the committee, and that the committee has a responsibility to subpoena Judge before it votes to recommend Kavanaugh to the full Senate.
The American Bar Association on Friday urged the committee and the full Senate to slow down on its vote unti the FBI has time to do a full background check on multiple sexual assault claims against Kavanaugh.
