An all-out brawl over Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination is putting the Senate on the edge of a political precipice, with some lawmakers saying the fight may leave lasting damage.

The palpable tensions spilled onto the Senate floor Wednesday when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Senate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ky.) accused Democrats and the “far left” of “intimidation tactics” and “bullying” as they try to persuade GOP senators to oppose Kavanaugh, whose nomination could come up for a confirmation vote as soon as this week.

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“The far left tried to bully and intimidate members of this body, Republican United States senators. They’ve tried to bully and intimidate us,” McConnell said. “I want to make it clear to these people who are chasing my members around the hall here or harassing them at the airports or going to their homes, we’re not going to be intimidated by these people.”

Protesters have been staking out senators at various points around Capitol Hill -- at unrelated hearings, their offices and their cars.

The growing confrontations between protesters and Republican senators come after a video of two women confronting GOP Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Republican former Michigan governor says he's voting for Biden Maybe they just don't like cowboys: The president is successful, some just don't like his style MORE (Ariz.) at an elevator in the Senate Russell Office building went viral last week.

Flake acknowledged that the encounter influenced his decision to negotiate a one-week timeframe to allow the FBI to investigate the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. A woman approached him outside of a hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Tuesday and thanked him for his decision, telling him that his “voice matters.”

Multiple senators, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyCollins says she will vote 'no' on Supreme Court nominee before election The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump, GOP allies prepare for SCOTUS nomination this week Gardner signals support for taking up Supreme Court nominee this year MORE (R-Iowa), have been spotted on Capitol Hill in the past week with police escorts as they go to and from votes. GOP Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsSenate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report The Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot MORE (Maine), a key swing vote, was seen leaving a Senate Aging Committee hearing escorted by police.

Talk of shutting down the hallway outside the hearing room, which would prevent reporters from posing questions directly to Collins, sparked a tense moment between reporters and Capitol Police.

Flake, Collins and GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiSenate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot Pence defends Trump's 'obligation' to nominate new Supreme Court justice MORE (Alaska) are undecided and viewed as the crucial swing votes on the fight over Kavanaugh, who remains short of the simple majority needed to be confirmed. Republicans hold a 51-49 advantage in the Senate.

Murkowski, speaking to reporters as she crossed the street outside the Capitol, characterized the media attention on her as “intense.”

But protests haven’t been limited to swing-vote senators. An anti-Kavanaugh protester repeatedly approached GOP Sen. Deb Fischer Debra (Deb) Strobel FischerHillicon Valley: Election officials prepare for new Russian interference battle | 'Markeyverse' of online fans helps take down a Kennedy | GOP senators unveil bill to update tech liability protections Google, Apple, eBay to meet virtually with lawmakers for tech group's annual fly-in Congress botched the CFPB's leadership — here's how to fix it MORE (Neb.), considered a solid “yes” vote, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Another protester pursued GOP Sen. John Cornyn John CornynThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Liberal super PAC launches ads targeting vulnerable GOP senators over SCOTUS fight Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court MORE (Texas), a strong Kavanaugh backer, after a Senate Intelligence Committee meeting. The protester first asked Sen. Joe Manchin Joseph (Joe) ManchinThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump, GOP allies prepare for SCOTUS nomination this week Trump meets with potential Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett at White House Names to watch as Trump picks Ginsburg replacement on Supreme Court MORE (D-W.Va.), who is undecided on Kavanaugh, if he had seen the Texas Republican. The protester did not attempt to sway Manchin’s vote and instead chased Cornyn up several flights of stairs.

Sen. Bob Corker Robert (Bob) Phillips CorkerHas Congress captured Russia policy? Tennessee primary battle turns nasty for Republicans Cheney clashes with Trump MORE (R-Tenn.), who has said he will vote for Kavanaugh, questioned whether some of the tactics are actually hurting the anti-Kavanaugh effort.

“There were two ladies who were pretty aggressive and a guy with a camera. So I talked with them for a fairly prolonged amount of time,” Corker told reporters, recounting his own experience. “Then it was evident that, you know, this wasn’t really about any of that, it was about … trying to create a, you know, a something.”

In addition to confrontations with protestors, senators are publicly tearing each other apart in a flurry of heated floor speeches and letters being released by leadership and rank-and-file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

McConnell took the latest swing at his Democratic counterparts in a letter he sent to Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerSenate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' Jacobin editor: Primarying Schumer would force him to fight Trump's SCOTUS nominee MORE (D-N.Y.), turning down his request for an all-Senate briefing on the FBI’s report into the sexual assault allegations that have have thrown Kavanaugh’s nomination into chaos.

McConnell said Schumer’s request wasn’t allowed under the rules governing supplemental background investigations, but also that, “in all candor,” he believed Democrats were making a bad faith effort to delay the nomination.

“I believe it would be used to further delay this nomination -- a goal about which you and your Democratic colleagues have been abundantly clear and single-minded in pursuing,” McConnell said, adding that Democrats had a “gross mishandling of background material.”

McConnell’s rhetoric has been backed up by his caucus. GOP Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) lashed out at Democrats while standing next to a sign that read “please! Get up in the face of some congress people.” He called their behavior “outrageous and unacceptable” and said they have “gone one tick too far this time."

Cornyn, echoing Kavanaugh’s testimony last week before the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats are on a “search and destroy mission.”

Schumer, meanwhile, blasted McConnell in a floor speech Wednesday, saying his GOP counterpart was spreading “blatant falsehoods” after he blamed Democrats for trying to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.

“It is galling, appalling to hear day after day the majority leader get on his high horse about delay when he almost invented the word when it comes to judicial nominations,” Schumer said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinBiden leads Trump by 12 points among Catholic voters: poll Names to watch as Trump picks Ginsburg replacement on Supreme Court McConnell says Trump nominee to replace Ginsburg will get Senate vote MORE (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, hit back at both Trump and Republicans after the president appeared to mock Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s first accuser, during a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night. Feinstein characterized Trump’s comments as “appalling” and “cruel.”

The Senate’s wounds over the Supreme Court go back years.

Republicans are quick to argue that Democrats set the stage for the current fight when they nixed the filibuster for lower court judicial nominations in 2013. Democrats counter that it's “hypocritical” for Republicans to move so quickly on Kavanaugh when they kept a Supreme Court seat open for months under President Obama.

McConnell downplayed the tensions, noting on Tuesday that the Senate has had some “rough” confirmation battles in the past. But senators are openly questioning how long it will take for the Senate to recover for the months-long, partisan, bitter brawl over Kavanaugh.

“I don't know how we get back,” Flake, who’s retiring in early January, said at a conference hosted by The Atlantic.

Sen. Roy Blunt Roy Dean BluntSocial media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court This week: Supreme Court fight over Ginsburg's seat upends Congress's agenda MORE (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, added separately that "it's going to take the Senate a while to get over the conduct here of our colleagues."