--- 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: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9f3f5f78-da63-4a2f-a7ff-cfc79b33ddcd&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) 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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