Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, for avoiding answering his questions “like the plague” after the two met privately Tuesday.
Schumer said he still has “serious concerns” about Gorsuch’s nomination to the high court even though he called him “clearly a very smart, polite and capable man who loves being a judge.”
Schumer and other Democrats said the timing of Gorsuch’s nomination, after Trump has taken at least two federal judges to task for decisions he disagreed with, is of particular concern because Gorsuch must demonstrate independence and a willingness to serve as a check on Trump’s power if he exceeds it.
“His nomination comes at a perilous time in the relationship between the executive and judicial branches,” Schumer said. “On the campaign trail, and from inside the White House, President Trump has shown a deep contempt for an independent judiciary that doesn’t always bow before him.”
Schumer said he spent a “great deal of time” in his meeting with Gorsuch asking “straight-forward and direct questions that would demonstrate whether he could demonstrate whether he could clear that bar,” demonstrating proof of independence.
Schumer said he asked about broad inquiries about the constitutionality of a Muslim ban, President Trump’s comments about voter fraud, the landmark campaign finance case known as Citizens United, and the emoluments clause of the Constitution that prohibits presidents from receiving money or gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval.
“If he took the opportunity to answer directly, he would be no more biased than any of the justices currently sitting on the court who have expressed their opinion on these cases…,” Schumer said. “…But the judge avoided answers like the plague.”
“The president is testing fundamental underpinnings of our democracy and its Constitution,” Schumer said. “These times deserve answers and Judge Gorsuch did not provide them. I have serious, serious concerns about this nominee.”
