WASHINGTON – Tensions rose and tempers frayed Tuesday as the White House, Senate Republicans and Democrats and lawyers for two women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in the 1980s neared a showdown.

As the hours ticked down to a historic hearing Thursday featuring Kavanaugh and one of his accusers, the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled a confirmation vote for Friday, in case the panel is prepared to vote then. That could set up a vote in the full Senate early next week.

But senators were still openly feuding over processes and precedents in terse letters and emails late Tuesday, with Democrats seeking delays and investigations and Republicans insisting the time for negotiations had ended. Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., complained the proceedings were shaping up "more as a trial than a confirmation hearing."

Lawyers for California college professor Christine Blasey Ford, who said Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party during high school, objected to the hiring of a female sex crimes prosecutor to conduct much of the questioning for the committee's 11 male Republican senators. They asked to meet with her beforehand, but Republicans have not released her name.

"Are there reasons – other than strategic advantage and unfair surprise – that you will not tell us the name of the experienced sex crimes prosecutor?" Debra Katz, one of Ford's lawyers, asked by email.

Mike Davis, nominations counsel for committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the name would remain secret "for safety reasons" he could not discuss. He refused Katz's request to resume negotiations by phone over details for the hearing.

Grassley's staff sought evidence and testimony from Deborah Ramirez, a Colorado woman who helps victims of domestic violence, before they would agree to investigate her claim in The New Yorker magazine that Kavanaugh exposed himself during a drinking game as a Yale University freshman. Kavanaugh denied the allegation Tuesday in a phone call with committee staff members.

"False statements made to the press are not subject to criminal penalty, but false statements to Congress are," Grassley said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the panel's top Democrat. "If Ms. Ramirez submits testimony and evidence to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which committee investigators have requested, we can decide how to proceed."

President Donald Trump weighed in from the United Nations in New York, despite efforts by White House aides and other Republicans to keep him from roiling the waters. He called Democrats' efforts on behalf of Kavanaugh's accusers "a con game."

“The second accuser has nothing,” Trump said of Ramirez. “She admits that she was drunk.”

His comments drew denunciations from Democrats and liberal interest groups that have flocked to defend Ford and Ramirez.

"We need Dr. Ford and all women to be truly listened to and heard, and Republicans need to stop trying to just rush this through," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. "Women are paying attention. Republicans need to get this right, and based on what we are seeing so far, I have very serious concerns."

Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House is open to having Ramirez testify before the Senate. GOP senators promised fairness to Ford, who Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said should be treated "the same way my daughters would be treated in the event they were making an accusation, or my mother or my wife."

Democrats continued to seek an FBI investigation of the two women's allegations, which would take several days in each case. They joined Ford's lawyers in charging that by hiring a sex crimes prosecutor, Republicans were out to intimidate Ford at Thursday's hearing.

"This is not a criminal trial for which the involvement of an experienced sex crimes prosecutor would be appropriate," Michael Bromwich, one of Ford's lawyers, wrote to Grassley's staff. "Neither Dr. Blasey Ford nor Judge Kavanaugh is on trial. The goal should be to develop the relevant facts, not try a case."

The accusations from Ford and Ramirez roiled the Supreme Court nomination process at the 11th hour, energizing sexual assault victims and the broader #MeToo movement, threatening Kavanaugh's career and reputation and risking the court's standing as it prepares for Monday's start of the 2018 term.

Kavanaugh was nominated by Trump in early July to succeed Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's swing vote on social issues such as abortion, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. The Judiciary Committee held a four-day hearing this month before the sexual assault allegations arose.

At stake is Republicans' effort to gain control of the court, possibly for decades to come, and Democrats' effort to block them. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who blocked President Barack Obama from naming a fifth liberal justice in 2016, reiterated his goal Tuesday.

"I look forward eagerly to hearing from both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh under oath this Thursday morning," he said. "And then I look forward to an up-or-down vote on this nomination right here on the Senate floor."

Cornyn said the committee could vote as early as Friday, then “we will proceed this weekend until we have the votes.”

First, Republicans must convince Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, moderates who favor abortion rights and haven't endorsed Kavanaugh.

“I’m going to be listening to every word” of the hearing, Murkowski said Tuesday.

If Kavanaugh is defeated or withdraws, the midterm elections will be held before another nominee can be confirmed, and Democrats have an outside chance of winning a Senate majority. In that case, Republicans could try to confirm a nominee during a "lame-duck" Senate session in the fall.

Contributing: Eliza Collins, Nicole Gaudiano and Maureen Groppe in Washington; John Fritze in New York.