Trump Fretted Gorsuch Would Not Be ‘Loyal’
Despite a White House statement in The Washington Post denying its story, President Trump Tuesday morning blasted the newspaper’s account that he was considering revoking his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court after the now-confirmed Supreme Court Justice made remarks critical of Trump.
“A story in the @washingtonpost that I was close to ‘rescinding’ the nomination of Justice Gorsuch prior to confirmation is FAKE NEWS,” Trump said on Twitter Tuesday morning. “I never even wavered and am very proud of him and the job he is doing as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The unnamed sources don’t exist!”
The Washington Post reported Monday evening that “earlier this year, Trump talked about rescinding Gorsuch’s nomination, venting angrily to advisers after his Supreme Court pick was critical of the president’s escalating attacks on the federal judiciary in private meetings with legislators.”
Trump “was upset that Gorsuch had pointedly distanced himself from the president in a private February meeting with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), telling the senator he found Trump’s repeated attacks on the federal judiciary ‘disheartening’ and ‘demoralizing,'” The Post reported.
“The president worried that Gorsuch would not be ‘loyal,’ one of the people said, and told aides that he was tempted to pull Gorsuch’s nomination — and that he knew plenty of other judges who would want the job.”
The Post says it interviewed “11 people familiar with the episode.”
One interesting note in the Post’s story is that Gorsuch “sent the president a handwritten letter dated March 2, thanking him for the nomination and explaining how grateful he was.” Trump did not receive it until March 10, suggesting a White House in utter disarray.
As a Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has already swayed the Court further to the right, in rulings, in cases accepted, and in cases denied. Gorsuch, before his confirmation, was rated as being to the right of Scalia.Â
Of course, Trump’s rebuttal only serves to broadcast the story to an even wider audience, making more people aware of the news.
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