White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is “more interested in politics than actually moving the government along.”
“How does the President plan to get Chuck Schumer on board with his pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, when he has referred to him as a clown and accused him of fake tears?” NBC’s Kristen Welker asked at the daily briefing.
Spicer responded that there was “widespread support” for Gorsuch’s confirmation and went on to accuse Schumer of obstructing several of the President’s nominees.
“I think Chuck Schumer has shown time and time again through this confirmation process with the Cabinet that he’s more interested in politics than actually moving the government along,” he said. “And I think that is troubling.”
Spicer added that reporters should ask Schumer why he is “stalling all of” Trump’s nominees and “insisting on new requirements” that he said Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan did not face.
“I mean, there is a point at which they need to get asked, why are they obstructing government at every step of the way?” Spicer said.
Welker then pressed Spicer about Trump’s personal insults toward Schumer. After the senator choked up Sunday while condemning Trump’s executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, Trump spent the next two days questioning whether Schumer’s display of emotion was genuine and dubbed him “Fake Tears Chuck Schumer.”
Spicer maintained that “Chuck Schumer is not innocent in this.”
“There’s a lot of comments that he’s made and a lot of accusations that he’s thrown out there and a lot of politics that he’s played,” Spicer said. “At some point, Chuck Schumer needs to be held accountable for his actions and his words.”
