Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly called President Trump to warn the president that his criticism of the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly called President Trump to warn the president that his criticism of the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault was not helpful.
CNN, citing two people familiar with the phone conversation, reported on Sunday that McConnell made the call in regards to Trump’s Supreme Court nominee after the president fired off a series of tweets about his accuser.
An aide to McConnell told CNN that Trump and McConnell „speak all the time.“ But the aide added that he had no „read-outs“ providing more detail of their discussions.
On Friday, Trump questioned the credibility of the accusation that Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old California psychologist, has leveled against Kavanaugh.
Ford, a 51-year-old psychology professor, has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly pinning her to a bed one summer while they were in high school in the 1980s. Ford claims that Kavanaugh groped „her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it.“
Kavanaugh has denied the accusations.
Many lawmakers ripped Trump’s comments about Ford as inappropriate.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was „appalled“ by the president’s sentiments on Friday.
“First of all, we know that allegations of sexual assault — I’m not saying that’s what happened in this case — but we know allegations of sexual assault are one of the most unreported crimes that exist,“ she said.
Despite McConnell’s reported misgiving with Trump’s tweets, the Kentucky senator has appeared confident that Kavanaugh would be confirmed in the future.
“You’ve watched the fight. You’ve watched the tactics, But here’s what I want to tell you: In the very near future, Judge Kavanaugh will be on the United States Supreme Court… Don’t get rattled by all of this. We’re going to plow right through it and do our job,” McConnell said at the conservative Values Voter Summit on Friday.
A new hearing is scheduled to take place regarding the charges Ford has leveled against Kavanaugh after she conditionally accepted GOP senators‘ offer on Saturday to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
