--- title: Read the Transcript of Susan Collins Speech on Kavanaugh description: Sen. Susan Collins Senate floor speech on Friday all but sealed Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. canonical: https://time.com/5417444/susan-collins-kavanaugh-vote-transcript/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-05T21:32:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:46:11.471Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's Sen. Susan Collins' Full Speech About Voting to Confirm Kavanaugh og:description: Her vote all but guarantees Kavanaugh will be confirmed og:url: https://time.com/5417444/susan-collins-kavanaugh-vote-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e71b35b3bf35d50/69893bfe457a524ee5d5f8c0/susan-collins-brett-kavanaugh-vote.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Supreme Court Kavanaugh, Washington, USA - 05 Oct 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Sen. Susan Collins' Full Speech About Voting to Confirm Kavanaugh twitter:description: Her vote all but guarantees Kavanaugh will be confirmed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e71b35b3bf35d50/69893bfe457a524ee5d5f8c0/susan-collins-brett-kavanaugh-vote.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Sen. Susan Collins' Full Speech About Voting to Confirm Kavanaugh > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Oct 5, 2018 9:32 PM UTC  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., speaks on the Senate floor about her vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, in the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 5, 2018. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., speaks on the Senate floor about her vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, in the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 5, 2018. AP/Shutterstock by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Oct 5, 2018 9:32 PM UTC Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Friday said that [she would vote for](http://www.time.com/5416643/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-cloture-vote/) Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court—a move that clears the way for him to be confirmed when the Senate takes its final vote on Saturday. Collins had been one of two remaining undecided Senators, and immediately after her announcement on Friday, the other Senator, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, also said he would support Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh, who has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, needs 50 votes to be confirmed, as Vice President Mike Pence can break a 50-50 tie in the Senate. But after Collins, Manchin, and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake all said on Friday they would vote to confirm Kavanaugh, the Senate will likely not need a tie-breaker. Collins explained her reasoning for supporting Kavanaugh in a 45-minute speech on the Senate floor Friday afternoon, detailing the nominee’s judicial record and discussing the sexual misconduct allegations against him. She said that while she took seriously the testimony from [Christine Blasey Ford](http://time.com/5415027/christine-blasey-ford-testimony/), who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school, Collins did not see evidence that should prevent Kavanaugh from serving on the court. “I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life,” Collins said of Ford. “Nevertheless, the four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events of that evening gathering where she says the assault occurred.” She added, “I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the Court.” Read the full transcript of Collins’ remarks below: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5417444/susan-collins-kavanaugh-vote-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5417444/susan-collins-kavanaugh-vote-transcript/"},"headline":"Here's Sen. 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