Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday for her lengthy trashing of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“It seems to me that it’s totally inappropriate for a member of the Supreme Court to be weighing in on an American election,” McConnell said Tuesday. “It raises the level of skepticism the American people have from time to time about how objective the Supreme Court is.”
McConnell’s criticism followed a scathing floor speech against Ginsburg that was delivered by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who is a high-ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. Smith said Ginsburg broke the code of conduct for judges by speaking against a candidate for public office.
“It was totally inexcusable and unprofessional for Justice Ginsburg to insult a presidential candidate,” Smith said. “It hurt the credibility of the Supreme Court and it showed bad judgment. It will be difficult for the American people to believe Justice Ginsburg can be impartial in any rulings that involve political issues.”
Smith said Ginsburg’s attacks on Trump “only contribute to the public’s feeling that the justice system may be rigged.”
Ginsburg, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, has refused to back down and further denounced Trump in an interview with Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic.
“He is a faker,” she told Biskupic in an interview published on CNN’s website.
“He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego… How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns?” she asked. “The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.”
Democrats have said very little about Ginsburg’s remarks.
Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Republicans should hold hearings and a vote on Merrick Garland, who is President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the high court.
“I”m not going to comment on what any of the eight Supreme Court justices said,” Reid told reporters who asked for his response to Ginsburg’s commentary on Trump. “I will comment on the fact that the Supreme Court has become very inoperable as a result of their failing to take action, doing their jobs with a hearing and a vote for Merrick Garland.”
