As confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch entered their third day Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) continued his consistent pleas against politicizing the judiciary process. Graham began by noting Gorsuch's stated dislike for "anyone" criticizing the integrity of a federal judge — Gorsuch has called such comments, similar to ones made recently by President Trump, "disheartening and demoralizing" — and said he agreed with Gorsuch that such speech is "out of bounds."
Then, Graham turned his sights from Trump to his Democratic counterparts on Capitol Hill. He read statements from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that were critical of Gorsuch, and noted the apparent hypocrisy:
Graham criticized the apparent "double standard" by Democrats between nominees chosen by a Democratic president versus a Republican president, pointing out that he voted for former President Barack Obama's two nominees, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, because they were qualified, not because they would advance his preferred agenda. "What more can you ask for?" Graham asked his Democratic peers:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), whose questioning followed Graham's, was quick to note Obama actually nominated three judges to the Supreme Court — Sotomayor, Kagan, and Judge Merrick Garland — and that Graham did not in fact vote for all of Obama's nominees, as Senate Republicans refused to give Garland a hearing. Gorsuch is nominated for the same seat Garland was tapped to fill by Obama.
-
The Taliban wages war on high-speed internetTHE EXPLAINER A new push to cut nationwide access to the digital world is taking Afghanistan back to the isolationist extremes of decades past
-
The US and Colombia renew their feud over the drug warIn the Spotlight The US has accused Colombia of failing in its drug-fighting efforts
-
‘The problem isn’t solved by simply swapping out the faces on screen’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
