A House Democrat called on his colleagues Wednesday to “rise up” if Republican senators push forward with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation without hearing from his sexual assault accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
“For the men and women of the House of Representatives, we must rise up in disgust and anger and make certain that our voice is clear,” Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., said during an interview with CNN. “Get the facts out. Give this woman the benefit of the doubt. Don’t treat her as so many women have been treated time after time in courtroom after courtroom.”
“For the men and women of the House of Representatives, we must rise up in disgust and anger and make certain that our voice is clear.” – Rep. Garamendi says lawmakers should protest if the Senate moves to vote on Kavanaugh without hearing from his accuser pic.twitter.com/PZAuqi8Yjr
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) September 19, 2018
Only the Senate has advise and consent responsibilities under the Constitution, rendering the House powerless to express any concerns over nominees named by the president for certain administration positions.
Instead, Garamendi suggested that he and other House lawmakers march over to the Senate because Kavanaugh’s nomination was a “defining moment in the #MeToo movement.”
Ford publicly accused Kavanaugh Sunday of drunkenly forcing himself on her during a high school house party in the 1980s when she was 15 and he was 17. Kavanaugh has “categorically and unequivocally” denied the claim.
Kavanaugh is scheduled to answer questions about the alleged incident on Monday during a public session of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford does not want to testify in front of the panel until the FBI has investigated her accusation.
President Trump on Wednesday described Kavanaugh as an “an outstanding man,” saying it was “very hard” for him “to imagine that anything happened.”
Garamendi dismissed Trump’s defense of Kavanaugh, given the president’s “long history of facing this precise issue.”
“He cannot and should not duck his responsibility for a full and fair investigation of the allegations that have been made by professor Ford,” Garamendi told CNN of Trump.
