In a town hall event on CNN Tuesday night, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) slammed President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court as “a very hostile appointment.”
Pelosi described federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch as “hopefully [Trump’s] only appointment to the court,” and said that Gorsuch has “come down on the side of corporate America” on a number of important issues.
“Class action suits, on security fraud, he has come down against employees’ rights. Clean air, clean water, food safety, safety in medicine and the rest,” Pelosi said, referring to Gorsuch’s legal record. “If you care about that for your children, he is not your guy.”
Pelosi said that Gorsuch’s hostility towards protecting those with disabilities with public education was especially troubling to her.
“He has ruled that they don’t have the same rights under the IDEA that children— that they could reach their intellectual and social advancement under the law. He has said that doesn’t apply to them. He’s come down against them on the ADA as well, and again, under IDEA. It is a very hostile appointment,” she said, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“As far as your family is concerned, if you breathe air, drink water, eat food, take medicine, or in any other way interact with the courts, this is a very bad decision,” she said. “Well outside the mainstream of American legal thought.”
Pelosi said it was Senate Democrats’ prerogative to confirm Gorsuch or not, but said House Democrats want “to make sure that this confirmation subjects the candidate to the strongest scrutiny when it comes to honoring the Constitution.”
