Mitch McConnell Throws Down The Gauntlet: ‘We Will Not Be Intimidated’

by Molly Prince

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scolded protesters Wednesday after weeks of harassment towards Republican members of the Senate for not actively opposing the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

“Sometimes this intimidation campaign [against Kavanaugh’s confirmation] has been aimed at the nominee … and when that didn’t work, then the far left tried to bully and intimidate members of this body — Republican United States senators,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “They’ve tried to bully and intimidate us.”

“One of our colleagues and his family were effectively run out of a restaurant in recent days by these people,” the Kentucky senator continued. “Another reported having protesters physically block his car door, and some have seen organized far left protesters camp out at their homes.”

Republican senators, especially members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have seen an increase in protests, disturbance and threats since President Donald Trump revealed Kavanaugh’s nomination in July. Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona were even assigned special protection in response to the heightened levels of harassment.

“I’m not suggesting we’re the victims here … but I want to make it clear to these people who are chasing my members around the hall here or harassing them at the airport or going to their homes,” McConnell said. “We’ll not be intimidated by these people.”

The Senate majority leader announced Monday that the full Senate would be voting to confirm Kavanaugh by the end of the week after a week-long FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct was completed.

“There’s no chance in the world they’re going to scare us out of doing our duty,” McConnell said. “I don’t care how many members they chase, how many people they harass here in the halls, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: We will not be intimidated by these people.”

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