Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the hearing a "national disgrace," while Texas Sen. John Cornyn said it was the most "embarrassing scandal for the U.S. Senate since the McCarthy hearings" in the 1950s.

Fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Democrats' treatment of Kavanaugh was the "most despicable thing" he has seen in politics.

On the other side, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called the hearing fundamentally "unfair" to Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both were in high school. Kavanaugh denied the allegation. Republicans assigned a female prosecutor to question Ford on their behalf, even though "she's not on trial," Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand and other Democrats were outraged that Republicans did not force a high school friend of Kavanaugh and other witnesses to testify under oath. Ford says Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge was present when the attack occurred.

The charged atmosphere in the room was heightened by Kavanaugh himself, who delivered what has to rank among the most combative testimony ever heard in a congressional hearing room.

As partisan as the nominating process has been, so too was the reaction.

In Kavanaugh's angry and tearful opening statement, supporters saw an expression of the frustration Republicans have felt since Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump in July.

But Democrats said Kavanaugh's 3 ½-hour appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee raised more questions than it answered.

Kavanaugh's testimony "had key gaps in substance and credibility," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and his frequent, angry outbursts "raised questions about his temperament."

Still, most GOP senators were likely to stick with Kavanaugh, especially without corroborating evidence from Ford to back up her story. Trump and Senate Republicans have resisted Democratic calls for an FBI investigation into Ford's claims.