 After Sen. Jeff Flake’s announcement that he would, in fact, vote to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the emotional debate over the confirmation spilled into the halls of Congress — on live television — as two women loudly and tearfully confronted the Arizona Republican in an el­e­va­tor Friday, telling him that he was dis­miss­ing the pain of sexual-assault survivors. “What you are doing is allowing someone who ac­tu­al­ly violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court,” one woman, who said she had been sexually assaulted, shouted during a live CNN broadcast as Flake was making his way to a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. The Center for Popular Democracy, a left-leaning advocacy organization, later identified her as the group’s co-executive director, Ana Maria Archila. They should just keep it to themselves because if they have told the truth you’re just going to help that man to power anyway.” pic.twitter.com/T7fSpyT69E — CNN (@CNN) September 28, 2018 
 
 If the committee approves the nomination, it would then go to the full Senate over the weekend, with a final up-or-down vote possible by Tuesday. Women confront Sen. Jeff Flake after he says he'll vote yes to Kavanuagh: “That’s what you’re telling all women in America, that they don’t matter. "Don't look away from me," the woman can be heard saying. Look at me and tell me that it doesn’t matter what happened to me — that you’ll let people like that go into the highest court in the land!” 
 
 Flake listened quietly, then told the women: “Thank you.” 
 
 “Saying ‘thank you’ is not an answer,” Archila responded. #StopKavanaugh pic.twitter.com/Hd4gxLWcCE — Make the Road Action (@MaketheRoadAct) September 28, 2018 
 
 When asked whether he had a comment, the senator told reporters: “No, I need to go to the hearing. In the hearing Friday, Flake said, “our system of justice affords a presumption of innocence to the accused, absent corroborating evidence. That is what binds us to the rule of law.” 
 
 The Republican-led committee announced it would vote on Kavanaugh by 1:30 p.m. (Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo, EPA-EFE) 
 
 A protester who said she was sexually assaulted approached Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator Friday after he released a statement saying he would be voting in favor of Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the Supreme Court. “Earlier this week, I shared my survivor story for the first time in front of Senator Jeff Flake’s office ... By announcing he will vote “yes” on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, Flake showed us that he does not care about our truths and does not care about women," Archila said in a statement. CLOSE A woman who identified herself as a sexual assault survivor told Senator Jeff Flake his vote for Kavanaugh means her voice "doesn't matter."
– Jeff Flake made big headlines Friday morning when he announced he would vote in favor of Brett Kavanaugh, making it all but certain the judge will be approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But the Republican senator from Arizona quickly learned that his decision had angered those who oppose Kavanaugh. A CNN camera captured the scene as two women confronted Kavanaugh in an elevator as he tried to make his way to a meeting of the committee. “What you are doing is al­low­ing some­one who ac­tu­al­ly vio­lat­ed a woman to sit in the Su­preme Court,” one woman told him. “This is hor­rible. You have chil­dren in your fam­i­ly. Think a­bout them.” See the video here. The other woman, who said she was a survivor of sexual abuse, then interjected: “You’re tell­ing all women that they don’t mat­ter—that they should just stay quiet be­cause if they tell you what hap­pened to them, you’re going to ig­nore them,” she said, reports the Washington Post. Flake didn't engage, saying, "Thank you," and explaining he needed to get to his meeting. “Look at me when I’m talk­ing to you!" said the woman, identified at USA Today as Ana Maria Archila, co-executive of the liberal advocacy group the Center for Popular Democracy. "You’re tell­ing me that my as­sault doesn’t mat­ter, that what hap­pened to me doesn’t mat­ter and that you’re going to let people who do these things into pow­er! That’s what you’re tell­ing me when you vote for him!"