A number of Republicans have said the vote on US President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, should be paused while allegations of sexual assault are properly heard.
It comes after Christine Blasey Ford accused Mr Kavanaugh of attacking her in the early 1980s.
Mr Kavanaugh denies the allegation, which emerged days before the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on the post.
Both he and Prof Ford say they are willing to testify before the panel.
And White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Prof Ford should “not be insulted or ignored” and should testify under oath, although that would be up to the committee to decide.
The Supreme Court is often the final word on highly contentious laws and its nine judges have an immense impact on US political life.
If chosen for the lifetime appointment, Mr Kavanaugh would be expected to tilt the court’s balance to the right.
So could there be a delay?
Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Prof Ford’s testimony should be heard.
“We need to hear from her,” he told news website Politico. “And I don’t think I’m alone in this.”
He is not the only Republican to voice concerns over Mr Kavanaugh’s appointment being pushed through at speed, in light of the allegations.
Tennessee’s Bob Corker also said the vote should be delayed until Prof Ford is heard, while Lisa Murkowski told CNN a delay was something “they might have to consider”.
Leading Democrats have called for a delay while the issue is investigated.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has said that to push through a vote on Thursday would be an “insult” to American women.
When asked on CNN whether Prof Ford would be willing to testify publicly before the panel, her lawyer, Debra Katz, said: “The answer is yes.”
Democratic Party Senator Dick Durbin, who serves on the judiciary panel, said: “This morning’s statement that she is willing to testify I really think puts the burden on us to get to the bottom of it.”
Mr Kavanaugh issued a statement on Monday saying the accusations against him were “completely false” and that he would “refute” them before the panel.
What has been alleged?
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University, detailed her allegations in the Washington Post at the weekend.
She told the newspaper she believed the incident happened in 1982, when she was 15 and Mr Kavanaugh was 17.
She said Mr Kavanaugh and a friend had allegedly “corralled” her into a bedroom at a gathering. Mr Kavanaugh and his friend were both drunk, she says.
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The Washington Post reported her account as follows: “While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it.
“When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.”
Mr Kavanaugh said last week: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
He repeated his denial in his statement on Monday, saying: “This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone.”
Mark Judge, who has been named as the third person in the room, told The Weekly Standard the allegations were “absolutely nuts”.
Prof Ford said she spoke of the alleged attack a couple of times over the subsequent decades.
Mr Trump’s nomination of Mr Kavanaugh revived the pain of the memory, she said, prompting her to approach Democratic lawmakers with her allegations in July.
Why do a few worried Republicans matter?
Mr Kavanaugh, 53, was questioned during four days of hearings at the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, which are now complete.
The committee is due to vote on Thursday on whether his nomination should go forward to a full vote in the Senate.
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The Republicans only have a single-vote majority on the committee, which they control 11 to 10, while they hold the Senate by just 51-49.
Mr Kavanaugh is strongly opposed by some Democrats for his views on issues such as abortion, and it seems unlikely any of them will cross the aisle to vote with their Republican colleagues.
This means it would take just Mr Flake to potentially derail Thursday’s committee vote, while only two Republican defections would swing the outcome away from Mr Kavanaugh in the Senate.
