Procedural vote imminent in fight over U.S. Supreme Court nominee

With Mr Kavanaugh's uncertain prospects for approval depending in part on the decisions of five wavering senators, politicians began viewing the document in a secure room in the Capitol complex.

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh penned an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal Thursday in which he stated he "might have been too emotional" during his testimony last week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Senate has voted to end the debate over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation process.

Republicans said the secret document - which described interviews agents conducted with 10 witnesses - failed to find anyone who could corroborate allegations by his two chief accusers, Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has yet to announce his position.

Flake forced Republicans to launch the additional investigation last week after a tense negotiation with Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats.

Mr Kavanaugh, a 53-year-old Yale University graduate, had been cruising to confirmation to the Supreme Court before a string of allegations from his student days surfaced late in the process.

Confirmation would hand Trump a clear victory and tip the balance on the court to a 5-4 majority in favor of conservatives in possible legal battles ahead over contentious issues such as abortion rights, immigration, and Trump's attempt to ban transgender people from the US military.

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexually assaulting a Dr. Christine Blasey Ford when both were teenagers and of being a heavy drinker. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) has said she'll vote no.

Murkowski seemed to confirm that fact shortly after the cloture vote, calling it "the most hard evaluation" she's had to make.

At a campaign rally in Minnesota Thursday night, President Trump pointed to new numbers that suggest the Democrats' rage against Kavanaugh is a political misfire.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein noted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not interview Kavanaugh himself or Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor from California who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 1982. Some held signs calling Kavanaugh a liar and unfit to serve.

The cloture vote essentially wraps up debate and creates a 30-hour window in which to hold a final confirmation vote with opposing Senators unable to delay the nomination or hold the floor to block it.

His column appeared aimed at winning over the three GOP senators who remain undecided.

With Vice President Mike Pence able to cast a tie-breaking vote, Republicans need at least one of those two senators to vote for Kavanaugh's confirmation.

If the procedural vote passes, the Senate could move to a final vote as early as Saturday, one month before the November 6 midterm elections.

A fuming Kavanaugh strode into the same packed hearing room that afternoon and said he, too, was "100 per cent" certain the incident had not occurred.

"It smacks of a whitewash", Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters, saying the report should not give political cover for Republicans to vote for Kavanaugh because "it is blatantly incomplete".

The report could be released as early as Wednesday, however two senior Senate sources told Fox News that it isn't expected to be released publicly.

Ms Feinstein said the White House may have limited the probe. Jeff Flake that led to an expanded FBI background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, says he doesn't know how Flake or the other undecided senators will vote.