The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Thursday to allow both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to present their arguments following Blasey Ford’s allegations that Kavanaugh assaulted her when she was 15. The 8-plus hours of testimony and questioning were streamed throughout the world as thousands of people watched, with many women staging walkouts in support of Dr. Ford’s testimony.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to debate Kavanaugh’s nomination, notable Democratic senators announced their distaste at the proceedings—going so far as to walk out altogether.
According to Vox, Kamala Harris (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) were among the Senate Democrats that left the meetings earlier today, calling for a delay in the Kavanaugh vote and for an FBI investigation to be launched into the alleged assault.
Moments ago I walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Kavanaugh. This hearing is a sham and Dr. Ford and the American people deserve better.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 28, 2018
Many other Democrats chose to remain behind and debate the nomination, including Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). However, the walkout is not the only form of protest at the Senate Judiciary meetings today. Numerous female House lawmakers present at the meeting have also stood up in protest of Kavanaugh’s nomination and in full support of a proper investigation.
Photo by Fox’s @ChadPergram – female Dem House lawmakers standing in the back of Senate hearing room. pic.twitter.com/a9j7a7kMoy
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) September 28, 2018
The female lawmakers then reportedly proceeded to walk out of the room.
These protests come after an emotional hearing day, fraught with conflicting testimonies by Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh. Often, the hearings were focused on bipartisan conflicts—with explosive rants from Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and evasive answers from Kavanaugh.
Citizens outside the Senate Judiciary meeting are also protesting the nomination, questioning senators who are potentially swing votes for the nomination. When Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who previously announced his doubts about Kavanaugh, announced he was backing Kavanaugh this morning, two survivors of sexual assault confronted him about his decision. Other key senators, such as Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), have not announced their position yet.
Update: 7 p.m. EST
On Friday afternoon Senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, said it would be “proper” for the Senate to wait on the vote until after a “limited scope” FBI investigation has been conducted. Chair of the judicial comittee, though following through with the committee vote, said that his suggestion (while informal) would be a “gentleman and ladies agreement.”
On Friday evening President Donald Trump ordered an FBI probe into Kavanaugh’s background, CNN reports.
“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file,” Trump said in a statement. “As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”