It’s clear now, if it wasn’t before, that the political theater disguised as a partisan investigation to get to the bottom of sexual assault allegations was a farce, and as such, four Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of the hearing Friday morning.
According to The Hill, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) walked out to protest the Republican decision to push for a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for 1:30 p.m., less than 24 hours after both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testified.
“I strongly object. This is just totally ridiculous. What a railroad job. My answer is no, no, no!” Hirono yelled out shortly before leaving the room, The Hill reports.
Both Harris and Cory Booker remained silent during the vote before Harris walked out.
The walkout caused quite a raucous during the hearing as several photographers, gathered in the space between the Congress members and the audience, stood to capture the moment.
“A clearly frustrated Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) rebuked the photographers for standing up to snap shots of the Democratic protest, obstructing the view of the audience, and threatened to kick them out,” The Hill reports.
“I’m sure a lot of people are irritated right now,” Grassley said as he wrapped up his comments.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation is expected to be approved by the committee Friday after the 1:30 p.m. EDT vote.