Earlier this year, President Donald Trump talked about reversing his decision to nominate Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court following reports that Gorsuch was critical of Tump during a private meeting with a senator, the Washington Post reported Monday night, citing people with knowledge of the discussions.
Trump was irked by reports that Gorsuch told Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) that the President’s attack on a federal judge was “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” according to the Washington Post. Trump told at least one person that he was concerned Gorsuch was not “loyal” to him, according to the Washington Post. The President told several aides that he was tempted to nix Gorsuch’s nomination.
Trump also complained in a meeting with Republican leaders in Congress that Gorsuch may end up being a “liberal” judge, per the Washington Post. A senior White House official disputed that description of the meeting to the Post.
In a Tuesday morning tweet, Trump denied that he considered nixing Gorsuch.
A story in the @washingtonpost that I was close to “rescinding” the nomination of Justice Gorsuch prior to confirmation is FAKE NEWS. I never even wavered and am very proud of him and the job he is doing as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The unnamed sources don’t exist!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2017
Marc Short, the director of legislative affairs, and White House spokesman Raj Shah also both denied to the Washington Post that Trump ever considered pulling Gorsuch’s nomination.
Read the Washington Post’s full report here.