The vote on an effort to cut off debate on the confirmation of Mr. Becker was 52-33, whish is 8 votes short of the 60 needed to force an end to the debate.
The scheduling of the vote, which would end debate on the confirmation hearing, signals that Mr. Reid believes he has the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened filibuster.
After the tally, the nomination will move to a procedural vote in the full Senate on Saturday, although it's unclear if the judge has the 50 votes needed to open debate on his confirmation on the chamber floor.
In 2013, the then-Democratic majority in the Senate invoked the "nuclear option" to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for ending debate on judicial confirmations except for the Supreme Court.
Democrats say that by limiting the time between cutting off debate on a nominee and voting on final confirmation, the Senate loses time needed to vet nominees.
On Friday, senators voted to end debate on Kavanaugh; a final vote on his confirmation is expected Saturday.
As an educator, Ms. Steiner said, she would take several lessons from the debate, including confirmation that academic freedom requires that once a course and its design are on the books, it should not be changed midstream.
The Senate voted 56-39 on Thursday to end debate on David Bernhardt, who will now move to a final confirmation vote next week.
By the first August recess of the Obama administration, only four nominees needed cloture votes — that is, a vote to end the debate on a nominee so that senators can move on to a confirmation vote.
Because Democrats are in the minority, they have no way to stop a confirmation vote on Alito except by refusing to end Senate debate on the matter, a procedure known as a filibuster.
