Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as the 114th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after a wrenching debate over sexual misconduct and judicial temperament that shattered the Senate, captivated the nation and ushered in an acrimonious new level of polarization 맥스카지노� now encroaching on the court that the 53-year-old judge may well swing rightward for decades to come.Even as Kavanaugh took his oath of office Saturday evening in a quiet private ceremony, not long after the narrowest Senate confirmation in nearly a century and a half, protesters chanted outside the court building across the street from the Capitol.The climactic 50-48 roll call capped a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that he had sexually assaulted women three decades ago 맥스카지노� allegations he emphatically denied. Those accusations transformed the clash from a routine struggle over judicial ideology into an angry jumble of questions about victims맥스카지노� rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees.His confirmation provides a defining accomplishment for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which found a unifying force in the cause of putting a new conservative majority on the court. Before the sexual accusations grabbed the Senate맥스카지노�s and the nation맥스카지노�s attention, Democrats had argued that Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s rulings and writings as an appeals court judge raised serious concerns about his views on abortion rights and a president맥스카지노�s right to bat away legal probes.Trump, flying to Kansas for a political rally, flashed a thumbs-up gesture when the tally was announced and praised Kavanaugh for being 맥스카지노�able to withstand this horrible, horrible attack by the Democrats.맥스카지노� He later telephoned his congratulations to the new justice, then at the rally returned to his own attack on the Democrats as 맥스카지노�an angry left-wing mob.맥스카지노�Like Trump, senators at the Capitol predicted voters would react strongly by defeating the other party맥스카지노�s candidates in next month맥스카지노�s congressional elections.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s turned our base on fire,맥스카지노� declared Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York forecast gains for his party instead: 맥스카지노�Change must come from where change in America always begins: the ballot box.맥스카지노�The justices themselves made a quiet show of solidarity. Kavanaugh was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts and the man he맥스카지노�s replacing, retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, as fellow Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan looked on 맥스카지노� two conservatives and two liberals.Still, Kagan noted the night before that Kennedy has been 맥스카지노�a person who found the center맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�it맥스카지노�s not so clear we맥스카지노�ll have that맥스카지노� now.Noisy to the end, the Senate battle featured a call of the roll that was interrupted several times by protesters shouting in the spectators맥스카지노� gallery before Capitol Police removed them. Vice President Mike Pence presided, his potential tie-breaking vote unnecessary.Trump has now put his stamp on the court with his second justice in as many years. Yet Kavanaugh is joining under a cloud. Accusations from several women remain under scrutiny, and House Democrats have pledged further investigation if they win the majority in November. Outside groups are culling an unusually long paper trail from his previous government and political work, with the National Archives and Records Administration expected to release a cache of millions of documents later this month.Kavanaugh, a father of two, strenuously denied the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford, who says he sexually assaulted her when they were teens. An appellate court judge on the District of Columbia circuit for the past 12 years, he pushed for the Senate vote as hard as Republican leaders 맥스카지노� not just to reach this capstone of his legal career, but in fighting to clear his name.After Ford맥스카지노�s allegations, Democrats and their allies became engaged as seldom before, though there were obvious echoes of Thomas맥스카지노� combative confirmation over the sexual harassment accusations of Anita Hill, who worked for him at two federal agencies. Protesters began swarming Capitol Hill, creating a tense, confrontational atmosphere that put Capitol Police on edge.As exhausted senators prepared for Saturday맥스카지노�s vote, some were flanked by security guards. Hangers and worse have been delivered to their offices, a Roe v. Wade reference.Some 164 people were arrested, most for demonstrating on the Capitol steps, 14 for disrupting the Senate맥스카지노�s roll call vote.McConnell told The Associated Press in an interview that the 맥스카지노�mob맥스카지노� of opposition 맥스카지노� confronting senators in the hallways and at their homes 맥스카지노� united his narrowly divided GOP majority as Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s confirmation teetered and will give momentum to his party this fall.Beyond the sexual misconduct allegations, Democrats raised questions about Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s temperament and impartiality after he delivered defiant, emotional testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he denounced their party.Schumer said Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s 맥스카지노�partisan screed맥스카지노� showed not only a temperament unfitting for the high court but a lack of objectivity that should make him ineligible to serve. At one point in the hearing, Kavanaugh blamed a Clinton-revenge conspiracy for the accusations against him.The fight ended up less about judicial views than the sexual assault accusations that riveted the nation and are certain to continue a national debate and #MeToo reckoning that is yet to be resolved.Republicans argued that a supplemental FBI investigation instigated by wavering GOP senators and ordered by the White House turned up no corroborating witnesses to the claims and that Kavanaugh had sterling credentials for the court. Democrats dismissed the truncated report as insufficient.In the end, all but one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, lined up behind the judge. She said on the Senate floor late Friday that Kavanaugh is 맥스카지노�a good man맥스카지노� but his 맥스카지노�appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable.맥스카지노�In a twist, Murkowski voted 맥스카지노�present맥스카지노� Saturday as a courtesy to Republican Kavanaugh supporter Steve Daines, who was to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding in Montana. That balanced out the absence without affecting the outcome, and gave Kavanaugh the same two-vote margin he맥스카지노�d have received had both lawmakers voted.It was the closest roll call to confirm a justice since 1881, when Stanley Matthews was approved 24-23, according to Senate records.As the Senate tried to recover from its charged atmosphere, Murkowski맥스카지노�s move offered a moment of civility. 맥스카지노�I do hope that it reminds us that we can take very small steps to be gracious with one another and maybe those small gracious steps can lead to more,맥스카지노� she said.Republicans control the Senate by a meager 51-49 margin, and announcements of support Friday from Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, along with Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, locked in the needed votes.Manchin was the only Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s confirmation. He expressed empathy for sexual assault victims, but said that after factoring in the FBI report, 맥스카지노�I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution.맥스카지노�A procedural vote Friday made Saturday맥스카지노�s confirmation a foregone conclusion. White House Counsel Don McGahn, who helped salvage Kavanaugh맥스카지노�s nomination as it teetered, sat in the front row of the visitors맥스카지노� gallery for the vote with deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah.Senators on both sides know they have work to do to put the chamber back together again after a ferocious debate that saw them arguing over the sordid details of high school drinking games, sexual allegations and cryptic yearbook entries.Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said, 맥스카지노�The Senate has been an embarrassment. We have a lot of work to do.맥스카지노�___Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Padmananda Rama, Ken Thomas, Catherine Lucey, Juliet Linderman and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.