Mitch McConnell says he won't be 'intimidated' by protests and Kavanaugh vote will happen this week

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Mitch McConnell vowed to force a vote on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination this week, despite major protests and an FBI investigation into sexual assault allegations that has not yet concluded.

The Senate majority leader spoke the House floor Wednesday, criticising the Democratic Party for what he described as "moving the goalposts" for Donald Trump's embattled nominee. His remarks arrived as numerous former associates of Mr Kavanaugh accused the federal judge of lying about his history with alcohol during last week’s hearings.

"I want to make it clear to these people who are chasing my members down the hall here, or harassing them at the airport or going to their homes, we will not be intimidated by these people," he said. "There's no chance in the world they're gonna scare us out of doing our duty. I don't care how many members they chase, how many people they harass here in the halls. I want to make one thing perfectly clear, we will not be intimidated by these people."

Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation process has turned into a battle between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, with all but three key senators in the majority appearing to support his nomination despite numerous allegations of sexual misconduct from his high school and college years. Those senators — Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — have not yet confirmed whether they will vote “yes” on the embattled nominee.

However, each of them appeared to denounce the president's mockery of Mr Kavanaugh's sexual assault accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, during a Mississippi rally Wednesday night. Mr Flake called the remarks "kind of appalling," while Ms Collins said they were "just plain wrong" and Ms Murkowski said they were "wholly inappropriate and unacceptable".

Meanwhile, virtually the entire Democratic Party remains opposed to Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination after Ms Blasey Ford provided testimony last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee in which she accused the federal judge of assault at a party when the two were teenagers.

The controversy has spurred high-profile protests outside of the Supreme Court, attended by Hollywood A-list celebrities and Democratic lawmakers, as well as an FBI investigation into Mr Kavanaugh after Mr Flake demanded it as part of his “yes” vote during last week’s confirmation vote in the judiciary committee.

However, according to Mr McConnell, the protests were not spurred by Mr Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations but instead due to an orchestrated effort on the part of the Democrats.

“This is all part of the organised effort to delay, obstruct and intimidate,” he said Wednesday. “Democrats may be trying to move the goal posts every five minutes, but their goal has not moved an inch. They will not be satisfied unless they have brought down Judge Kavanaugh's nomination.”

He added, “If my friends across the aisle had their way the goalposts would move the vote to another time zone.”