The Supreme Court announces that Brett Kavanaugh will be sworn in immediately.

The Senate’s 50-48 confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh sets into motion a series of legal battles that will unfold for years to come over abortion rights, executive power, the administrative state, and other issues yet to be foreseen. These are not the battles progressive activists expected or wanted to fight. It feels like a generational setback. You don’t usually get to pick your battles. They are thrust on you. But it is the fight at hand, and it is only just beginning.

It’s a mere formality at this point, but the Senate is about to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  The voting is set to begin shortly. TPM’s Tierney Sneed is at the Capitol.

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Chuck Grassley declares that the handcuffed FBI probe turned up nothing new on Brett Kavanaugh.

During this first break in the hearing, a quick survey of the media reaction suggests (i) a near universal* sympathy toward Christine Blasey Ford, who appeared poised, credible, sincere and compelling; and (ii) that even Fox News observers see this as devastating testimony for Senate Republicans still trying to push through the Kavanaugh nomination.

*Conservative Twitter was predictably ugly. More soon on that …