Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the US Supreme Court appeared all but assured after two key lawmakers who had wavered on his controversial nomination signaled their support.
Senate Republican Susan Collins Friday affirmed in a closely-watched floor speech that she will vote for the conservative jurist nominated by President Donald Trump, and moments later Democrat Joe Manchin broke ranks to announce his own backing.
Their declarations of brought the number of senators publicly supporting the 53-year-old judge -- who has faced accusations of sexual assault -- to 51 in the 100-member chamber.
A final confirmation vote is expected Saturday afternoon.
Kavanaugh's nomination was left teetering on the edge after university psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford claimed in harrowing testimony last week that he tried to rape her when they were high school students.
But Collins, a moderate, pro-choice lawmaker from Maine, said Kavanaugh was entitled to the "presumption of innocence" as the allegations against him lacked corroborating evidence.
While Collins acknowledged that Blasey Ford's testimony was sincere, painful and compelling, and that the accuser is a sexual assault survivor, she added that "I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the court."
Immediately after the Collins speech Manchin announced his support, calling Kavanaugh a "qualified jurist" who "will not allow the partisan nature this process took to follow him onto the court."
After Collins's speech, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders took to Twitter to thank her "for standing by your convictions and doing the right thing."
Trump took the brutal battle to a new stage earlier Friday when he dismissed female anti-Kavanaugh protesters who have cited their own experiences of sexual assault as "elevator screamers."
Collins appeared to fall in line with Trump's accusation that outside funding was being pumped into the process, as she slammed the "unprecedented amount of dark money opposing this nomination."
But Daines tweeted that he spoke with Kavanaugh and assured him: "I will be back to vote yes this weekend if needed."