Kagan confirmation in sight as Senate begins debate on Supreme Court nominee

[Scurrilous]

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"A confirmation vote is all but assured for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as the Senate begins debate on making her the fourth female justice.

Supporters and opponents were to weigh in during debate starting Tuesday on President Barack Obama's nominee. A vote is expected before week's end. Confirming Kagan, 50, for a lifetime seat on the court is one of the last pieces of business senators will attend to before departing for a monthlong vacation.

Kagan is in line to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens, the head of the court's liberal bloc, and become the fourth woman to sit on the court. Her confirmation is not expected to change the ideological balance on the deeply divided court.

Nearly all Democrats and a handful of Republican senators are expected to vote for Kagan, who has served as the Obama administration's solicitor general."

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