Then:
In 1991, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, an all-white male body, listened to Anita Hill’s testimony and chose to move Clarence Thomas’s nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. The US Senate voted to place Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment.
The vote: 52-48
Thomas remarks, 1991.
Now:
In 2018, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, with four Democratic women members, listened to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony and ignore her statements (and those of others) and after a limited FBI investigation regarding Ford’s allegations, sent Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate with a 11-10 vote. The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to place Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment. This was the closest vote confirming a Supreme Court nomination since a 24-23 vote in 1881.
The vote: 50-48
Collins remarks, 2018