Lindsey Graham excoriates Democrats for their hypocritical criticism of Neil Gorsuch
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 former largest iceberg is turning blue. It’s a bad sign.Under the radar It is quickly melting away
-
Why Saudi Arabia is muscling in on the world of animeUnder the Radar The anime industry is the latest focus of the kingdom’s ‘soft power’ portfolio
-
Scoundrels, spies and squires in January TVthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Ponies’ and ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
