Kavanaugh Confirmed as new Supreme Court Justice amid polarizing battle

the senate confirmed brett m. kavanaugh as the 114th supreme court justice on saturday by one of the narrowest margins (50-48) in history. amid mass protests, their decision ended a contentiously polarizing battle over his nomination and solidified a conservative majority on the court.

kavanaugh denied allegations of christine blasey ford, who detailed in emotional testimony he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. two other female accusers came forward, resulting in an fbi investigation ordered by the trump administration - but only for a week. 

the fbi did not interview any of the female accusers. 

"it's been a great political gift for us. the tactics have energized our base. i want to thank the mob, because they've done the one thing we were having trouble doing, which was energizing our base," said senate majority leader mitch mcconell (r-ky).

kavanaugh heads to the supreme court politically scarred from the confirmation fight. his victory echoes the 1991 battle over now-justice clarence thomas, who was accused of sexual assault by law professor anita hill. both testified before the senate, and thomas ultimately prevailed.

chief justice john g. roberts jr. has received over 12 complaints of judicial misconduct against kavanaugh but is not referring them for investigation. "we have to rise above partisanship in our personal relationships. we have to treat each other with respect and dignity and with a sense of amicability that the rest of the world doesn't share," said justice sonia sotomayor.

kavanaugh, 53, is a veteran of the george w. bush white house who spent a dozen years on the court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. he was a top deputy in the office of independent counsel kenneth w. starr when starr was conducting an inquiry into bill clinton.