Poll: Opposition to Kavanaugh rises

An increasing number of Americans do not want the Senate to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, according to a Reuters–Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. 

The survey, which partially took place before news broke of a sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh, found that 36 percent of respondents did not support the Senate confirming Trump’s second high court pick. The figure represents a 6-point increase from a similar poll conducted last month. 

Meanwhile, 31 percent of Americans said they supported Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court. 

{mosads}Citing historical data from Gallup, Reuters noted that if support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation stays this low but he still clears the chamber, he would rank among the least-supported court nominees to later be confirmed. 

The survey’s release comes as Kavanaugh faces increased scrutiny over what was at first an anonymous sexual assault claim against him. 

Christine Blasey Ford, a California psychology professor, came forward publicly and detailed her allegations against Kavanaugh to The Washington Post on Sunday. 

Ford has claimed that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed one summer while they were in high school in the 1980s and “groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it.”

Kavanaugh has fiercely denied the accusation. But after many senators voiced concerns about a confirmation vote proceeding, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) agreed on Monday to schedule a second hearing for Kavanaugh next week. 

Ford has said she wants the FBI to investigate the charges she’s made before going “on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident,” according to The New York Times.

The Reuters poll was conducted among a population of 2,196 adults from Sept. 11 to 17, meaning some of the polling took place before the news of that claim broke. The survey has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2 percentage points.