WASHINGTON — Even before Brett Kavanaugh won the Senate's consent to ascend to the Supreme Court, liberals started looking for ways to remove him.

A petition to impeach Kavanaugh has gathered over 125,000 signatures, progressive groups have raised money to expel him from the federal bench and a key Democratic lawmaker has promised to investigate the judge if the party retakes the House in November.

While it's highly unlikely Kavanaugh will become the first Supreme Court justice in American history to be removed (Samuel Chase was impeached in 1804 but was acquitted by the Senate and remained on the bench), the calls for his ouster speak to the fury felt by the liberal base.

Kavanaugh is being sworn in Saturday so he can immediately begin work on the court, which started its term on Monday.

"An accused sexual predator who committed perjury by repeatedly lying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee has no business being a judge — period," said Heidi Hess, co-director of the liberal group CREDO Action, which organized the Kavanaugh impeachment petition.

"We will particularly focus on making sure House Democrats know that progressives expect them to use their full power to get Kavanaugh off the bench if they gain control of the House," she added. "A majority of Americans opposed Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court and we believe a majority will ultimately support his impeachment as well."

Donald Trump Jr. warned Republicans about the possibility on Friday.

Trump supporters - The fight isn’t over. You better believe that Democrats are going to do everything in their power to impeach Kavanuagh from the Supreme Court if they take control of Congress in November.



This is war. Time to fight. Vote on Nov 6 to protect the Supreme Court! — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 5, 2018

Tension between those who want to remove Kavanaugh and those in the party who want to focus on other priorities has already forced some difficult decisions for Democratic-leaning groups in this year's election.

Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is running for the Senate, offers Democrats one of their best shots at picking up a seat next month, while Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents up for re-election.

But after both announced Friday that they approve of Kavanaugh's nomination, some progressive groups moved quickly to cut off support.

"Get your wallet out (Phil Bredesen) because you just lost all your volunteers," the Eastern Tennessee chapter of the anti-Trump "resistance" group Indivisible wrote on Twitter.

MoveOn also announced it was canceling a six-figure advertising campaign for Bredesen "due to his Kavanaugh position" and foreclosed any possible further efforts to help Manchin. Priorities USA, Democrats' largest super PAC, is not spending money in either race and won't be, said spokesperson Josh Schwerin.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who would become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats retake the House, and who would probably be the point-person on issues of impeachment, has signaled that he would reopen an investigation into Kavanaugh, who would be a sitting member of the high court by the time the new Congress is sworn in in January.

"Accountability is what has been missing under the Republicans," Nadler said in the weekly Democratic address. "This is something we have to address, in the interest of the American people and for the health and future of our democracy."