'#Resist, not #assist': DiFi apologizes to Kavanaugh for protesters, Twitter slams her

People reacted strongly on Twitter when Sen. Dianne Feinstein apologized to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for the interruption of protests during the confirmation hearings. People reacted strongly on Twitter when Sen. Dianne Feinstein apologized to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for the interruption of protests during the confirmation hearings. Photo: Screenshot Via Twitter Photo: Screenshot Via Twitter Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close '#Resist, not #assist': DiFi apologizes to Kavanaugh for protesters, Twitter slams her 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Shortly after protests broke out in the room during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) offered the nominee an apology for the disturbance before questioning him — a pleasantry that rubbed some critics the wrong way.

"I'm sorry for the circumstances," Feinstein told Kavanaugh, "but we'll get through it."

The comment ruffled some feathers among those on the left who felt longstanding members of Congress like Feinstein weren't doing enough to obstruct Kavanaugh's nomination at all costs.

"She apologizes for the 'circumstances' and says 'we'll get through it.' Ummm how about we don't?" tweeted Jessica Mason Pieklo.

Feinstein's challenger in the November race to keep her senate seat, state Sen. Kevin de León, expressed a similar sentiment.

ALSO: Five takeaways from the Kavanaugh hearings so far

"We should be praising the protesters and standing outside with them, not apologizing for their actions," de León wrote. "We need a senator from California who will stand up and #RESIST not #ASSIST."

Later on, Feinstein and Kavanaugh exchanged tense words over assault weapons (Kavanaugh voted to strike down the District of Columbia's ban on assault weapons when he was an appellate court judge).

"Let me interrupt you," she interjected at one point, "because I think we're on totally different wavelengths."

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter