Watch Bernie Sanders' vicious takedown of Judge Neil Gorsuch on the Senate floor

Sen. Bernie Sanders.
(Image credit: Screenshot/C-SPAN)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) took to the Senate floor Tuesday for a vicious 13-minute takedown of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. "After meeting with Judge Gorsuch and having a long and pleasant conversation, after hearing his testimony before the Judiciary Committee, and after carefully reviewing his record, I have concluded that I cannot support a man with his views for a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court," Sanders said.

Sanders went on to cite some of those "views," explaining that the decisions reached by the Supreme Court justices, "even on a 5-4 vote, have a profound impact on all Americans, on our environment, and on our way of life." He ripped everything from Gorsuch's opinions on voting rights and campaign financing to his decisions on abortion rights, workers' rights, and corporate power. In one example, Sanders described a case involving TransAm Trucking, in which Gorsuch argued that "a trucker was properly fired by his employer for abandoning his cargo at the side of the road after his truck broke down and he nearly froze to death waiting for help."

"Judge Gorsuch literally believed this man should have had to choose between his life and his job, and by choosing his life, not freezing to death, he deserved to lose his job," Sanders said.

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Sanders concluded that "at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when so many people working throughout this country feel powerless at the hands of the wealthy and the powerful and their employers, we need a Supreme Court justice who will protect workers' rights and not just worry about corporate profits. I fear very much that Judge Gorsuch is not that person." Watch below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.