Republicans say bitter Kavanaugh fight energizing base as Collins defends vote

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, voted to confirm supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday.Susan Collins, the moderate US senator from Maine whose vote to put Brett Kavanaugh on the supreme court was decisive, despite sexual assault allegations, defended herself on Sunday against charges of betraying women and the #MeToo movement – as the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, boasted that the bitter fight on Capitol Hill has given his party a late advantage in the forthco