Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said Thursday he found no reason to doubt the credibility of one of the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

Cornyn’s comments came minutes after Christine Blasey Ford finished testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegations that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a high school gathering in 1982.

Asked if he found Ford’s testimony to he “credible,”  Cornyn responded that he “found no reason to find her not credible.”

{mosads}“There are obviously gaps in her story. Obviously we know people who are traumatized can have those sort of gaps. … Again, I regret that she finds herself in this circus-like setting,” added Cornyn, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Cornyn noted that he also wants to hear from Kavanaugh, who is scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday afternoon.

Senators and Rachel Mitchell, the outside counsel hired by Republicans, questioned Ford for hours on Thursday.

Republicans are coming under early criticism that letting an outside counsel ask questions was a strategic mistake.

Ford claims that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothing during a house gathering in the early 1980s.

Kavanaugh has denied wrongdoing.

The televised hearing comes as GOP leadership wants to hold a committee vote on Kavanaugh on Friday, setting up a full Senate vote next week.

At least one other GOP senator, Richard Shelby (Ala.), said Thursday that he found Ford to be a “credible” witness.