After pressing him on women’s rights, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., gave Judge Neil Gorsuch a big backhanded compliment Wednesday morning.
Feinstein, who noted that she’s sat through six previous Supreme Court hearings, told Gorsuch, “You have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have ever seen before.”
“Maybe that’s a virtue, I don’t know,” she continued.
Feinstein previously attempted to challenge Gorsuch on whether his originalist constitutional interpretation could result in women being “conscribed to a lesser fate because the law is interpreted in a backwards sense,” mentioning equal pay and the missed opportunity for a woman president in her line of questioning.
Senate Democrats have been working hard to push Gorsuch on partisan issues over the course of his multi-day hearing. For his part, Gorsuch has calmly rebuffed their attempts, explaining that he tries to avoid engaging in politics as a judge. Frustrated by those effective explanations, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., went so far as to confront Gorsuch with his campaign volunteering record dating back to the 1970’s on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, Feinstein appeared to be equally frustrated by Gorsuch’s ability to resist Democrats’ partisan traps, remarking, “For us on this side, knowing where you side on major questions of the day is really important to a vote ‘aye.’ That’s why we press and press and press.”
After Feinstein concluded, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. called his Democratic colleagues out for their double standard. Addressing Gorsuch, Graham said, “When there’s a Republican nominee, you’ve got to tell these senators that you won’t get in the way of their agenda.”
“I’m not asking you to tell me whether or not you agree with my agenda. I’m asking you whether or not you will fairly hear the cases before you, because to do anything else would be unfair to you,” he finished.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
