Ted Cruz calls Chief Justice John Roberts a 'liberal,' apologizes for backing his nomination

The Republican fight over Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who has twice upheld ObamaCare, broke into the open on Wednesday night's CNN debate. Jake Tapper asked Jeb Bush if his brother, former President George W. Bush, had made a mistake when he appointed Roberts to the highest court. Bush responded that Roberts has made some good decisions, but that as president, he would only nominate justices with strong, long conservative track records, unlike Roberts. He responded to criticism of Roberts from Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) by noting that Cruz backed the Roberts nomination at the time.

Cruz started out by saying that George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush should have picked the more "rock-ribbed conservative" jurists they had at their disposal, not Roberts and David Souter, respectively. When Jeb Bush again noted Cruz's public support for Roberts, Cruz issued a mea culpa: "That was a mistake and I regret that," he said. "I wouldn't have nominated John Roberts and indeed Gov. Bush pointed out why. It wasn't that President Bush wanted to appoint a liberal to the court. It is that it was the easier choice."

Mike Huckabee then chimed in with a whole list of conservative litmus tests he would use to pick judicial nominees. None of the candidates explained how they would get their proven far-right candidates through the Senate.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up