Washington (CNN) Former FBI Director James Comey expressed his approval of the reopening of the bureau's background check into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, writing in a New York Times op-ed that the assigned deadline is "idiotic."

"It is idiotic to put a shot clock on the F.B.I. But it is better to give professionals seven days to find facts than have no professional investigation at all," he wrote in the op-ed published Sunday.

Comey wrote that he is confident in the FBI agents' ability to sufficiently conduct an investigation into claims of sexual misconduct made against Kavanaugh by several women. The investigation, which was approved last week by President Donald Trump, has temporarily stalled a Senate vote on the judge's confirmation to the high court.

"F.B.I. agents are experts at interviewing people and quickly dispatching leads to their colleagues around the world to follow with additional interviews," he wrote. "Unless limited in some way by the Trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days, if necessary."

CNN has previously reported that a source with knowledge of the investigation said the FBI would take its direction from the White House, not the Senate, and that the agency would interview a handful of people.

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