After a hard-fought battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation just over a year ago, the revelation of further sexual misconduct allegations against him has prompted 13 Democrats to push for his impeachment.
“This is the reckoning, and gone are the days where we will be complicit and lackadaisical in the fact that this is an epidemic and survivors deserve healing and justice and everyone deserves due process,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) told CNN in September just after introducing a resolution in mid-September calling for Kavanaugh’s impeachment.
{mosads}Although the resolution’s odds of passing through Congress are long, 12 co-sponsors have signed onto the measure so far, including:
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
Fellow members of the so-called “Squad” of progressive freshman congresswomen have joined Pressley in signing onto her resolution.
On Sept. 16, shortly after the new allegations broke, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: “It is unsurprising that Kavanaugh, credibly accused of sexual assault, would lie under oath to secure a Supreme Court seat. Because sexual assault isn’t a crime of passion – it’s about the abuse of power. He must be impeached.”
Omar issued a similar call the same week, tweeting: “We must open impeachment inquiries against Trump *and* Kavanaugh immediately. It’s our constitutional duty.” She is the most recent cosponsor of the resolution, signing on Oct. 1 as opposed to Sept. 25 like the others.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.)
Kennedy, who recently announced he will mount a primary challenge to Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), announced his support for impeaching Kavanaugh the same day Pressley announced she would introduce the resolution.
“Someone facing credible sexual assault allegations does not belong on our highest seat of justice. That’s a lesson this country should not have had to learn twice. We need an impeachment inquiry on Kavanaugh. We need court reform. And we need justice for survivors we have failed,” Kennedy tweeted on Sept. 17.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)
Lewis, a hero of the civil rights movement, is one of the seniormost Democrats signed onto the resolution. His announcement that he supported the impeachment of President Trump in September was a major turning point in the flood of Democratic support that led to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announcing an inquiry later that day. So far, no similar floodgates have opened on impeachment for Kavanaugh.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)