Trump says Senate should review Kavanaugh allegations, even if it delays his confirmation

President Trump on Monday said he is open to delaying Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation vote. He called the question of whether Kavanaugh should withdraw over sexual assault allegations "ridiculous," but said that "if it takes a little delay, it'll take a little delay."

"Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I've ever known," Trump told reporters. He said that the judge, who was accused this weekend of forcibly groping a 15-year-old girl when he was in high school, is "respected by everybody."

Trump additionally accused Democrats of strategically hiding the allegations until shortly before the Senate's scheduled vote. "I wish the Democrats could have done this a lot sooner," he said. "They had this information for many months, they shouldn't have waited until literally the last days." The woman, who came forward to The Washington Post this weekend, had initially contacted California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) in July, but at the time she did not want her identity to be revealed.

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"With all of it being said," Trump continued, "we want to go through a full process." The Hill reports that he said the Senate should "hear everybody out" to resolve the matter. He said he has "great confidence" in the Senate process to review the claims and predicted that it will all "work out very well."