Welcome back to Trump Watch, your end-of-week briefing on Trump and the law. The Senate voted today, 51-49, to end debate on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. That means a final vote on his nomination can take place as early as Saturday. We're watching with bated breath to see what happens…

In the meantime, something interesting: in late August, over forty appellate and Supreme Court lawyers wrote a letter backing Kavanaugh's nomination to the Senate Judiciary Committee. That was before allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Which attorneys still stand by Kavanaugh? Check that out below, plus a round-up of other news this week.

➤➤ As always, thank you for reading. Let me know what's happening in your world: I'm at [email protected], on Twitter @elliskkim, and at my desk line (202) 828-0366.

Lawyers on Kavanaugh

In late August, a group of about forty lawyers signed a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. It praised the D.C. Circuit judge as an “outstanding jurist” and endorsed his character, temperament and intellect.

But that was before the allegations of sexual misconduct—including Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's accusation that he sexually assaulted her in their high school years, and Deborah Ramirez's claim that he exposed himself to her at a college dormitory party—rocked Kavanaugh's nomination.

The National Law Journal polled the attorneys who signed onto the letter: Seventeen of 41 said they still supported Kavanaugh. Another two, Gibson Dunn's Ted Olson and Helgi Walker, have publicly gone to bat for him. Twenty lawyers did not respond to requests for comment and two declined to comment. No one qualified or retracted their support of Kavanaugh.

➤➤ You can read the story here.

A couple takeaways from this: There are appellate and SCOTUS attorneys reaffirming their support of Kavanaugh, even as some Kavanaugh backers have retracted or clarified their support, and opposition appears to have grown in the last week. At this point (Friday at noon), over 2,400 law professors have signed a letter urging the Senate to vote down Kavanaugh, pointing to a “lack of judicial temperament” during testimony last week.

Still, half of the lawyers who signed the August letter did not respond to requests for comment, or were reluctant to speak about it publicly. What to make of that? For one thing, the Supreme Court term just began and, as one partner noted, “it is a busy season.” On the other hand, it underscores how lawyers and law firms are toeing around an issue that's become as divisive and difficult as they come.

➤➤ A couple firms stand out in terms of the number of partners supporting Kavanaugh. Several Gibson Dunn partners signed onto August's laudatory letter, and most indicated this week they're sticking by the nominee. On top of Walker and Olson's comments, Miguel Estrada, Allyson Ho, Matthew McGill, Mark Perry and Amir Tayrani all told me this week they continued to back the nominee. (Perry also penned an op-ed for the Washington Post, published Friday.)

➤➤ There's more. Jeffrey Harris, a partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park, told me Thursday: “I, and my law partners Will Consovoy and Tom McCarthy, stand 100% behind the letter we signed and remain completely supportive of Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation.”

➤➤ Would you like to receive Trump Watch straight to your inbox? Learn more.

This Week in Trump Watch

BLOCKED — In case you missed it, a San Francisco-based federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to end temporary protected status for over 300,000 individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, living in the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen issued the preliminary injunction order Wednesday, removing the threat of deportation for those people as their lawsuit proceeds. Chen cited the “irreparable harm” TPS beneficiaries would face from losing TPS status, weighing in favor of keeping the status quo for now. Chen also acknowledged “serious questions” raised by plaintiffs about whether the Trump administration's plan was motivated by racial animus. “The issues are at least serious enough to preserve the status quo,” he wrote.

In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said Chen's ruling “usurps the role of the executive branch.” The ACLU of Southern California, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Sidley Austin filed the class action lawsuit in March.

CENSUS MEETS SCOTUS — U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco formally asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to stay the depositions of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and DOJ Civil Rights Division acting head John Gore, as well as other discovery, in a New York-based lawsuit revolving around the addition of a citizenship status question on the 2020 U.S. Census. The suit was brought by state attorneys general, including New York's state AG Barbara Underwood. Here's Dan M. Clark with the latest.

Gavel Tracker

With the Senate all-consumed by Kavanaugh this week, there has been little movement on other Trump judicial nominees. Here's where the Gavel Tracker stands right now:

And thanks for checking out our Gavel Tracker. How do we count up these numbers? The count on Article III pending nominations is the sum of all of Trump's nominees to Article III courts, including the U.S. Court of International Trade. Our court-by-court breakdown, however, only looks at Supreme Court, appellate, and district court nominees. Additionally: Our figure for pending nominations includes nominations for future vacancies, as well as existing vacancies.