Democrats are resisting claims that a Supreme Court nominee’s private comments criticizing President Trump prove that he will act as a check on the administration, with their latest shot against the nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, using the White House press secretary’s own words against the judge.
“Sean Spicer just made it crystal clear that Judge Gorsuch has refused to condemn President Trump’s attacks on the judiciary,” Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said in a statement. “That makes an already weak response even weaker, and is further proof that the judge has not demonstrated the kind of independence necessary to be a check on this administration.”
The latest volley between Democrats, the White House and Gorsuch’s supporters further muddy the already murky question of whether Gorsuch’s private expressions of dismay over Trump’s tweets bashing a federal judge will change the political dynamics surrounding his confirmation.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Wednesday after his closed-door meeting with Gorsuch that the judge had told him he found Trump’s attacks “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” an account that Gorsuch’s own spokesperson confirmed. Blumenthal added, however, that Gorsuch needed to come out publicly with his concerns.
Other senators, including Republican Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) also recounted Gorsuch condemning personal jabs at the judge, James Robart, whom Trump called a “so-called judge” after he placed a nationwide halt on the President’s travel ban.
Thursday morning, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte — Gorsuch’s liaison to the Hill — offered her own, more watered-down statement explaining that Gorsuch “made clear” that he was not “referring to any specific case,” but that he said “that he finds any criticism of a judge’s integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing.”
Further complicating the matter was Trump himself, who repeatedly accused Blumenthal of embellishing Gorsuch’s remarks. Spicer, on Thursday afternoon, said Trump had “no regrets” about the insults he lobbed against Judge Robart, and that it was “very clear” that Gorsuch “was not commenting on any specific matter.”
Conservatives have argued that Gorsuch’s comments show his independence from the Trump administration. Progressives have countered he will need to go much further and publicly elaborate not just what he thinks of the personal attacks, but his views on specific legal issues and how they apply to the executive branch.
Some Democrats are also speculating that Gorsuch’s comments were a set-up by the White House to further his supporters’ narrative around his nomination.
The Democratic National Committee said in a statement that they were “clearly a meaningless White House orchestrated attempt to help Judge Gorsuch pretend he won’t be a rubber stamp for the Trump administration.”
