US President Donald Trump on Friday accused protesters massing in Washington against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of being "paid professionals" funded by billionaire investor and liberal donor George Soros.
"The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don't fall for it!" Trump said on Twitter.
"Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others. These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers"
The Senate was due Friday to vote on moving ahead with the nomination of Kavanaugh to the highest court in the US, as Republicans brushed aside complaints by Democrats that an FBI probe of sexual assault allegations against him was rushed and incomplete.
A final vote could come Saturday on Trump's embattled nominee, who if approved would seal a conservative majority on the nine-seat court for decades.
On Thursday protesters swamped Capitol Hill and roamed the corridors of the Senate to lobby lawmakers who took turns in a secure basement room reviewing a single copy of the new FBI report on Kavanaugh.
More than 300 people were arrested at the protests, including the comedian Amy Schumer, who is a second cousin of Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer, and model Emily Ratajkowski.
US-Hungarian business magnate Soros was a supporter of Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
Listed by Forbes magazine as one of the world's richest men, he is accused by nationalists around the world of sponsoring protests and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda.
In 1992, the Wall Street trader became known as "the man who broke the bank of England" when his aggressive speculation against the sterling sent it crashing out of the European exchange mechanism.
