Mitch McConnell Says 'We're Gonna Plow Right Through' Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Allegations

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a crowd of conservatives Friday that Brett Kavanaugh would be confirmed to the Supreme Court, adding that "we're going to plow through" the sexual assault allegations that have threatened to derail the judge's nomination.

Kavanaugh has been accused by Christine Blasey Ford of pinning her down at a high school party more than 30 years ago, groping her and trying to remove her clothes. A hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee featuring both Kavanaugh and Ford had been scheduled for Monday, but Ford's lawyers said they wanted more time and called for an FBI investigation to be carried out first.

Kavanaugh had appeared a near certainty to become President Donald Trump's second nomination to be confirmed to the Supreme Court before the allegations last week threw the process into doubt. McConnell attempted to assuage conservatives' fears.

"In the very near future, Judge Kavanuagh will be on the United States Supreme Court," he said to huge applause from the audience at the annual Values Voter Summit. "So, my friends, keep the faith, don't get rattled by all of this, we're going to plow through it and do our job."

While most have said that Ford should be allowed to air her allegations, Republicans insisted that a vote on Kavanaugh's nomination move forward as swiftly as possible. It was unclear Friday whether they would grant Ford's wish to delay the hearing until later next week. Kavanaugh said he was willing and eager to testify on Monday.

President Donald Trump had taken a relatively restrained approach to the allegations, while still fully supporting Kavanaugh. But on Friday morning, shortly before McConnell took the stage, the president unleashed a series of tweets directly questioning Ford as well as the way the process had been conducted by Democrats.

"Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don't want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay. Facts don't matter. I go through this with them every single day in D.C." Trump began.

In a separate tweet, he continued: "I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!"

Speaking to Newsweek Friday, those who had counseled victims of sexual assault said it not unusual at all for victims of sexual assault to wait years before coming forward with their stories, or to never do so at all.