Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON–The news that Brett Kavanaugh allegedly committed sexual assault as a college student confirms what we’ve already known: Brett Kavanaugh is unfit to serve as a judge. He’s not only unfit to sit on the Supreme Court, but he’s also unfit to hold the position he currently occupies on the United States Court of Appeals.

Brett Kavanaugh must withdraw his nomination to the Supreme Court, and he must also step down from the federal bench. If he refuses to do so, appropriate investigations and judicial proceedings should commence.

The Senate Judiciary Committee should not turn Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing into a trial at which women face hostile cross-examination from a partisan attorney and see their personal trauma minimized or dismissed.

We know that the Judiciary Committee is led by men with a history of opposition to decisive measures that protect women from sexual violence. The six ranking Republican members of the Committee–Grassley, Hatch, Graham, Cornyn, Lee, and Cruz–each voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act of 2013, which passed the Senate 78-22. We know that two of these men, Hatch and Grassley brutally grilled Anita Hill and voted to elevate Clarence Thomas to the highest court in the land.

We demand that these allegations be investigated. We demand Kavanaugh step back from this nomination and step down from the federal bench. He should not be in the position to “judge” anyone. Enough is enough!

Contact

Brittany T. Oliver, comms@now.org, 202-628-8669