Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Saturday that she'll vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday, despite her opposition to the process that's recently transpired.
The big picture: Murkowski's decision leaves Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) as the only Republican expected to vote against Barrett.
What she's saying: Murkowski, who voted against moving forward with the nomination on Friday, said she will also vote against ending debate on Sunday. But despite her objections, the Alaska senator said she will vote in favor of confirming President Trump's nominee on Monday.
- "I do not believe that moving forward on a nominee just over a week removed from a pitched presidential election when partisan tensions are running about as high as they could, I do not think this will help our country become a better version of itself," she said from the Senate floor on Saturday.
- But Murkowski said she has "no doubt about [Barrett's] intellect. I have no doubt about Judge Barrett's judicial temperament. I have no doubt about her capability to do the job."
- "I have concluded that she is the sort of person we want on the Supreme Court," she added.
- "While I oppose the process that led us to this point, I do not hold it against her."
Worth noting: The Supreme Court's 4-4 deadlock earlier this week on a request from Pennsylvania's Republican Party to shorten the deadlines for mail-in ballots underscores the importance for conservatives of confirming Barrett before the election.
- Trump himself has said Barrett could be a deciding vote in an election-related dispute.