GOP senator compares impeachment inquiry to Kavanaugh confirmation

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Tuesday compared the impeachment inquiry against President Trump to the contentious hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

“You know what these proceedings look to me like right now? They look like the Kavanaugh hearing without the vagina hats,” Kennedy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “This is going to be the most — no, strike that — this will be the only partisan impeachment proceeding in the history of the United States.”

Senator John Kennedy says Democrats “are weaponizing impeachment as a political weapon” in the House’s inquiry into whether Trump held up Ukraine aid for a political advantage pic.twitter.com/FwSJjIcTnF

— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) November 19, 2019

Kennedy, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was referring to the pink-knitted caps with ears that became popular during the 2017 Women’s March shortly after Trump’s inauguration. They have since become associated with the modern-day feminist movement.

Kavanaugh’s path to the Supreme Court was nearly blocked when sexual assault allegations emerged, including from Christine Blasey Ford, who alleged in testimony that Kavanaugh had tried to sexually assault her when the two were in high school in the 1980s. The then-nominee vehemently denied the allegations in a contentious hearing.

Ford was hailed by women’s rights activists and sexual assault survivors for her public testimony.

Kennedy also railed against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the impeachment inquiry, calling it a “gross violation of due process” because Republicans have not been allowed to call witnesses.

“All Speaker Pelosi and her team are doing is weaponizing impeachment as a political weapon,” he said.

Kennedy’s remarks come on the third day of public impeachment testimony. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the director for European affairs on the National Security Council, testified alongside Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Pence.

House Democrats are investigating whether Trump sought to use military aid or a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to open investigations into Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.