An aggressive push by progressives to impeach Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael KavanaughTrump plans to pick Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg on court Collins trails challenger by 4 points in Maine Senate race: poll SCOTUS confirmation in the last month of a close election? Ugly MORE is falling flat on Capitol Hill.

A coalition of House Democrats, 2020 presidential candidates and influential outside groups is trying to build momentum for ousting Kavanaugh in the aftermath of a new sexual misconduct allegation against him.

ADVERTISEMENT

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyEnding the Hyde Amendment is no longer on the backburner Fauci, Black Lives Matter founders included on Time's 100 Most Influential People list Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' MORE (D-Mass.) introduced a resolution Tuesday calling for an impeachment inquiry after The New York Times reported over the weekend that a former Yale University classmate alleged Kavanaugh exposed himself at a college party and that other students pushed Kavanaugh’s genitals into the hand of a female student.

“This is the reckoning, and gone are the days where we will be complicit and lackadaisical in the fact that this is an epidemic and survivors deserve healing and justice and everyone deserves due process,” Pressley said during an interview with CNN.

But Democratic leaders are signaling they want nothing to do with the impeachment chatter, which comes as they are already trying to juggle a simmering fight over the impeachment of President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE within their own ranks and getting a stopgap funding bill through Congress by the end of next week.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish MORE (D-N.Y.) sidestepped when asked Tuesday about efforts to impeach Kavanaugh, noting that he had opposed Trump’s pick during last year’s months-long confirmation brawl.

“I’ve said this before: Very simply, I never thought Kavanaugh should be on the bench, and I still don’t today,” Schumer told reporters when asked if he thought the House should launch an impeachment investigation.

Asked by The Washington Post if she sees the House spending time on the new Kavanaugh allegations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Health Care: New wave of COVID-19 cases builds in US | Florida to lift all coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, bars | Trump stirs questions with 0 drug coupon plan Overnight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds MORE (D-Calif.) replied: "No."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) was equally cool to questions about impeaching Kavanaugh during a New York radio interview this week, effectively icing any action until next month when FBI Director Christopher Wray is scheduled to testify before the Judiciary panel.

“It’s too early to form a judgment one way or another. We’re going to start looking into this; we’re going to start with the FBI director coming in front of us next month. And we have our hands full with impeaching the president right now,” Nadler told WNYC.

The lukewarm reception puts Democratic leadership at odds with several of the party’s 2020 presidential candidates, who immediately called for impeachment or an investigation following the New York Times report.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisTexas Democratic official urges Biden to visit state: 'I thought he had his own plane' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden on Trump: 'He'll leave' l GOP laywers brush off Trump's election remarks l Obama's endorsements A game theorist's advice to President Trump on filling the Supreme Court seat MORE (D-Calif.), former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE have each said they support impeaching Kavanaugh.

And they’re backed by a coalition of groups that are clamoring for House Democrats to take action, arguing Kavanaugh is “unfit” for the Supreme Court and that he lied during his Senate testimony last year.

“At this point, an impeachment inquiry in the House is the only appropriate way to conduct the fact-finding that Senate Republicans refused to conduct,” progressive groups Demand Justice, Women’s March and Center for Popular Democracy said in a joint statement.

The New York Times piece marked the latest point of conflict since Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last year after Justice Anthony Kennedy stepped down in the summer of 2018.

Kavanaugh faced accusations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct ahead of his confirmation, prompting senators to take the unprecedented step of having Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee and delaying his nomination so the FBI could conduct a supplemental background investigation.

Kavanaugh has denied any wrongdoing.

Democrats slammed the weeklong FBI investigation, arguing the agency was limited by guidelines established by the White House and Senate Republicans. But, in the end, Kavanaugh was narrowly confirmed last year with support from every Republican except Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Energy: Trump officials finalize plan to open up protected areas of Tongass to logging | Feds say offshore testing for oil can proceed despite drilling moratorium | Dems question EPA's postponement of inequality training Poll: 57 percent of Americans think next president, Senate should fill Ginsburg vacancy MORE (Alaska). Sen. Joe Manchin Joseph (Joe) ManchinThe debate over the filibuster entirely misses the point Trump plans to pick Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg on court Day before Trump refused to commit to peaceful transition, Aaron Sorkin described how he would write election night MORE (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote for him.

Some Democrats warned on Tuesday that it’s time to move on, noting that an impeachment effort would face a GOP buzz saw even if it got through the House.

“We should be focused on making sure this never, ever happens again. We need a functional background investigation process from the FBI,” said Sen. Chris Murphy Christopher (Chris) Scott MurphyDemocratic senator calls for 'more flexible' medical supply chain to counter pandemics The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon GOP chairman to release interim report on Biden probe 'in about a week' MORE (Conn.), a liberal Democratic senator. “I think it’s highly unlikely you’re going to get an impeachment vote through the United States Senate, so our best remedy may just be trying to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Asked if he would support impeachment, he responded by saying, “My feelings on Kavanaugh are pretty public. I just think we need to understand what’s realistic here.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon WhitehouseThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Feinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Hillicon Valley: Murky TikTok deal raises questions about China's role | Twitter investigating automated image previews over apparent algorithmic bias | House approves bill making hacking federal voting systems a crime MORE (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, warned that House Democrats pushing for impeachment were getting ahead of themselves.

“We seem to have a habit of wanting to get to the verdict before we’ve gathered the evidence. I don’t, as a former prosecutor, approve of that habit,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Senate Republicans and others in the party have rushed to defend Kavanaugh after The New York Times story and tried to paint the impeachment calls as another sign that Democrats have shifted to the left ahead of 2020. Republicans view the courts as an issue that fires up their base and unifies the party.

“The Democrats lost ground after the Kavanaugh hearings. The fact that they’re reprosecuting things, and it’s following the same storyline as the hearings, is a loser for them,” said Sen. Thom Tillis Thomas (Thom) Roland TillisOvernight Energy: Trump officials finalize plan to open up protected areas of Tongass to logging | Feds say offshore testing for oil can proceed despite drilling moratorium | Dems question EPA's postponement of inequality training On The Trail: Making sense of this week's polling tsunami Feds say offshore testing for oil can proceed despite drilling moratorium MORE (R-N.C.), who is running for reelection in a top-tier Senate race.

Republicans previously made Kavanaugh a key issue during the 2018 Senate races, where several red- and purple-state senators who voted against him lost their reelection bids.

Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Feinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE (D-Ill.), the Senate minority whip and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Republicans love hearing Democrats talk about impeachment and warned his party against an “unrealistic,” “knee-jerk reaction.”

“The notion of an impeachment, to me, is unrealistic and the fact that we would divert ourselves from other issues for that purpose makes no sense,” he said. “It’s become a knee-jerk reaction among many Democrats.”

Al Weaver contributed.