"We'll get an FBI report soon. It will be made available to each senator and only senators will be allowed to look at it," McConnell told reporters.

He added, "That's the way these reports are always handled."

The FBI is investigating allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when the two were high school students more than three decades ago. Under a deal reached by GOP senators, the FBI has until Friday to wrap up the investigation.

Ford went over her allegations in dramatic testimony last week. Her charges were then refuted by Kavanaugh during a hearing that transfixed much of the nation.

Republicans, leaving a closed-door lunch, said they did not know when the FBI would finish up its investigation but floated that it could happen as early as Wednesday .

Whether or not the report will be publicly released is becoming the latest point of division between senators.

"Why are our Republican colleagues so afraid of making this public?" he asked.