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McConnell says Kavanaugh will be on the Supreme Court ‘in the very near future’

He also promised to "transform" the judiciary.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is welcomed to the stage by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins during the Value Voters Summit, September 21, 2018 in Washington, D.C. McConnell promised attendees that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault, will be appointed to the Court in "the very near future." (Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is welcomed to the stage by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins during the Value Voters Summit, September 21, 2018 in Washington, D.C. McConnell promised attendees that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault, will be appointed to the Court in "the very near future." (Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON D.C. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) addressed the annual Values Voters Summit on Friday and promised Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault, would be confirmed “in the very near future.”

In front of a rapt crowd, McConnell promised not only that Kavanaugh would be confirmed, but also pledged to “transform the judiciary” not only via the Supreme Court but also through the district and circuit courts.

“The circuit courts are where most complex decisions are made,” McConnell said. “[We’ve appointed] 26 court judges — this is the fastest pace in the history of our country. It will be more before the end of the year.”

“These are lifetime appointments,” McConnell continued. “If you want to have a long-term impact on what type of country we’re going to have, the single most consequential thing we can do is these lifetime appointments who believe that a job of the judge is to follow the law.”

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Kavanaugh is currently facing a storm of criticism over allegations of sexual assault from a former high school classmate, Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a house party in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied the accusation. Ford, who goes by “Blasey” professionally, has said she is willing to testify before the Senate and has asked for a full FBI investigation into her claims.

Republican lawmakers have so far defended Kavanaugh against the allegations, claiming the timing of her letter outlining the assault, which was sent over the summer and made public this month, is questionable. Some, including President Trump, have noted the assault took place several decades ago and insist Kavanaugh has changed since then and is a “good man.”

McConnell also received widespread praise Friday for his decision not to consider the appointment of Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court under Barack Obama, a decision which was unprecedented in judicial history. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who introduced McConnell, described the decision as historic.

“McConnell’s decision not to move former president Barack Obama’s pick is one of the single most courageous political acts in the history of United States Senate,” Perkins said. “It helped frame the presidential election and has now put us on path of restoring the constitutional republic.”

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“The far left has done everything they could to prove that millions and millions of so-called Americans did not matter to them,” Perkins added. “This is what they think about you and your families and your communities and your values.”

Tony Perkins, one of the most ardent anti-abortion activists in the country, didn’t mention that support for Roe v. Wade recently hit an all-time high. According to a July poll, 71 percent of American voters believe the historic decision, which legalized abortion in the United States, should not be overturned, a figure including 76 percent of Independents and 52 percent of Republicans.

Opposition to Kavanaugh’s nomination, meanwhile has grown by nine points in the last month alone, meaning that more Americans now oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination than support it.