Mitch McConnell describes attorney questioning Kavanaugh and his accuser as a 'female assistant'

Update: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released a statement late Tuesday night naming Rachel Mitchell as the prosecutor hired by the GOP to question Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford.

“The majority members have followed the bipartisan recommendation to hire as staff counsel for the committee an experienced career sex-crimes prosecutor to question the witnesses at Thursday’s hearing,” Grassley’s statement read. “The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns. I’m very appreciative that Rachel Mitchell has stepped forward to serve in this important and serious role.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the attorney who will question Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford as a “female assistant.”

McConnell made the comment on Tuesday while speaking to reporters about the potential outcome of Kavanaugh’s upcoming hearing during which he’ll face allegations of sexually assaulting professor Ford when the two were in high school (Kavanaugh has denied the claims).

“We’re going to be moving forward. I’m confident we’re going to win, confident that he’ll be confirmed in the very near future. I believe he’ll be confirmed, yes,” said McConnell, according to Reuters. “We have hired a female assistant to go on staff and to ask these questions in a respectful and professional way,” referring to the attorney (whose name is being kept private) hired by the male panel of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee who will question both Kavanaugh and Ford during Thursday’s hearing.

According to CNBC, Kavanaugh and Ford will be also questioned by the committee’s four Democratic senators, one of which is California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the recipient of the private letter written by Ford that initially aired the allegations.

The “female assistant” narrative didn’t exactly go over well.

The secrecy surrounding the identity of the lawyer has furthered tensions. “Who is going to speak for all of the 11 Republican senators?” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told CNN. “We don’t have the name, do we? Someone has been given a new job — a person we don’t know. At some point that secrecy has to be unveiled. We should at least know who is going to take the place of the 11 duly elected senators.”

Last week, CNN reported that “multiple sources” claimed the role would be filled by Beth Wilkinson, a former attorney for Philip Morris and one who won the 1997 Oklahoma City bombing case that resulted in the execution of terrorist Timothy McVey. Wilkinson was also named “Trial Lawyer of the Year” in February.

On Tuesday, Sen. Kamala Harris emphasized that Ford is not on trial here, tweeting, “This hearing is to determine whether Kavanaugh is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. By hiring a private attorney to cross-examine Dr. Blasey Ford, Republicans are trying to intimidate her and avoid being held accountable by voters.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Is Melania Trump trolling the president by wearing black in solidarity with sexual assault survivors? The internet thinks so.

• Patti Davis, daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, reveals she was sexually assaulted, calls Christine Blasey Ford ‘brave’

• ‘Please remember her humanity’: Actress Bridgit Mendler among family members sharing letter of support for Christine Blasey Ford

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