Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans are considering using female staffers to question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford at the hearing set for Thursday, but her attorneys pushed back.
Committee Republicans “reserve the option to have female staff attorneys, who are sensitive to the particulars of Dr. Ford’s allegations and are experienced investigators, question both witnesses,” committee chair Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a letter to Ford’s lawyers Friday, according to The New York Times.
Ford’s lawyers only want her to be questioned by senators, reported CNN. All 11 of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican members are male.
Four Democratic female senators sit on the Judiciary Committee, but they will likely be speaking, not questioning, during their allotted time slots, according to The NYT.
Ford will testify Thursday about her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who will have the chance to rebut her testimony after Ford speaks.
Ford has also requested that she never has to be in the same room as Kavanaugh during the hearing process. (RELATED: Yale Law Professor Says Reports That She Groomed Potential Kavanaugh Clerks Are ‘100% False’)
Ford claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh denies the allegations.
Kavanaugh currently serves as a Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. President Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh as his nominee July 9.
Follow Evie on Twitter @eviefordham.
Send tips to evie@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.