A communications adviser to the Senate Judiciary Committee who was previously accused of sexual harassment has reportedly stepped down, as the committee waits to hear from a California professor who alleges that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago.
Garrett Ventry, who was reportedly helping committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, coordinate the response to Christine Blasey Ford’s claim about Kavanaugh, denied that he was previously fired over the harassment allegations, according to NBC News.
The Washington Post reported Ventry submitted his resignation Friday night “in order not to be a distraction” during the confirmation process.
“Garrett was one of several temporary staff brought on to assist in the committee’s consideration of the Supreme Court nomination, a team that has done outstanding work,” a committee spokesman said Saturday morning, per the Post.
Ventry was reportedly fired by Republican North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell, who refused to discuss the matter with NBC News. According to the news outlet, Ventry faced an accusation of sexual harassment from a woman on the state lawmaker’s staff.
