Chuck Grassley says women don't join the Senate Judiciary Committee because it's 'a lot of work'

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which determines whether accused sexual assaulter Brett Kavanaugh deserves a chance to get a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, has been criticized for lacking female members, and Republican Chuck Grassley claims to know why. “It’s a lot of work — maybe they don’t want to do it.”

The committee chairman shared his feelings — specifically about Republican women — with reporters Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal, adding, “My chief of staff of 33 years tells me we’ve tried to recruit women and we couldn’t get the job done.”

Grassley later corrected his remark, saying that he actually meant to include both sexes. “We have a hard time getting men on the committee. It’s just a lot of work; whether you’re a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter.”

“On average, any woman in the United States Senate, whether they’re on Judiciary or any other committee, probably works harder than the average man,” he said, while specifying that, ideally, five more women would occupy seats on the Supreme Court.

But Grassley’s follow-up comments felt disingenuous, and commenters on social media weren’t buying them.

The Kavanaugh-Ford hearings have attracted sexism in many forms. Some people on social media mocked Ford’s “vocal fry“; Donald Trump Jr. expressed sympathy for young men accused of sexual assault; Sen. Orrin Hatch published a “slut-shaming” letter comparing Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick to a “high-end call girl“; Alyssa Milano was slammed for wearing a “revealing” shirt during the hearings; and model Emily Ratajkowski was told by social media commenters to “put on a bra” while attending a Kavanaugh protest.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Mika Brzezinski responds to allegations that she ‘bullied’ Kellyanne Conway about sexual assault

• Chelsea Clinton tweets ‘Please leave Judge Kavanaugh’s daughters alone’ after controversial cartoon

• Senator accused of ‘sIut shaming’ Julie Swetnick by tweeting letter using the phrase ‘high-end call girl’

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