Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse defended Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over remarks that seemed to threaten Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, criticized Chief Justice John Roberts for his statement chastising Schumer and for not reprimanding Kavanaugh over his performance in his October 2018 confirmation hearings.
“I’m a little upset that the chief justice chose this moment to jump into a political squabble when he had nothing to say about Kavanaugh’s ranting and raving in the committee and nothing to say about Trump’s threats to the two women justices,” Whitehouse told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t think he’s a very credible, neutral umpire on this.”
Schumer on Thursday was excoriated by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators for comments the minority leader from New York made Wednesday on the steps of the Supreme Court at a rally hosted by a reproductive rights group.
“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer said to cheers from rally attendees.
Roberts later in the day knocked Schumer, a rare criticism of members of the legislative branch.
“Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous,” Roberts said. “All members of the court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter.”
Schumer on Thursday on the Senate floor conceded he “shouldn’t have used the words” he did.
Other Democrats agreed with Schumer, saying he should have used better judgment before he spoke, but that President Trump has made worse remarks about the more liberal-leaning judges on the high court.
“Everybody knows Chuck Schumer. He’s not threatening any kind of violence or anything like that,” Sen. Doug Jones, an Alabama Democrat, told the Washington Examiner. “That’s silly, but it was inappropriate comments. Look, the president is attacking the judiciary constantly, and we need to get away from that.”
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania also defended Schumer.
“Look, I have the benefit of knowing him on a daily basis for 13 years, and never has he done anything like that,” Casey told the Washington Examiner. “But, unlike some people around here, he offered an apology, and I wish someone in the executive branch would do that once in a while.”
