Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley walked back a suggestion Friday that men outnumber women on the panel because “it’s a lot of work.”

The committee’s male to female ratio was scrutinized during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing process, prompting Republicans to hire a female prosecutor who specialized in sex crimes to question California professor Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her more than 30 years ago. Kavanaugh has denied the accusations against him.