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:
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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.
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