[USATODAY] Sen. Mazie Hirono did not hold back Tuesday in her condemnation of the handling of professor Christine Blasey Ford's allegation of a decades-old sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, telling men to "shut up and step up." The Hawaii Democrat slammed the Senate Judiciary Committee's move to hold a hearing on the allegation on Monday and said the men on the committee should join the call for an FBI investigation ahead of any testimony from Kavanaugh or Ford. Hirono is a member of the committee.
Hirono said she expected "the enlightened men in our country" to "rise up to say, 'We cannot continue the victimization and the smearing of someone like Dr. Ford.'"