Senate confirmation without committee approval

[President Johnson]

Usually, all presidential nominees subject to senate confirmation go to the respective committee first, which votes to get him or her on the senate floor. What happens if a nominee has enough support among all senators to get confirmed for a cabinet post, but if there is enough bipartisan opposition in the committee? Is there a procedural way to force a vote on the senate floor without committee approval? Does either the majority leader or the vice president (as senate president) have the power to bypass the committee? The constitution does not specify how the confirmation has to be handled, only that a majority of senators shall give advice and consent.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

There were situations in the past when the committee actually voted against recommending a nominee, who would then still proceeded to the floor. In 1987 the Judiciary voted against recommending Bork, but still voted to send the nomination to the floor. I believe if they voted against sending the nomination for a vote, it would've been blocked, but I don't know if there are precedents. And if the committee can't just block the nomination, I expect a procedural delay could've been possible, unless there's a timetable. 

Also, if I'm not mistaken, you can pass a bill without having the committee taking on it. In 1964 Mike Mansfield managed to essentially bypass the Judiciary Committee, controlled by Jim Eastland (who would've just buried the bill, as many others before), to bring up the Civil Rights Act to the floor. I imagine that, unless there's some statutory law demanding hearings, you could theoretically bypass the committee when it comes to the nominations.