U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Corey Booker, D-N.J., fiercely sparred over protections for Supreme Court justices in the midst of an uptick of threats against the justices based on controversial decisions.
The senators faced off in joint hearings of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on the Constitution and on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights.
Senators held the joint hearing to discuss the recent uptick in nationwide injunctions issued by federal judges against President Donald Trump’s actions and associated protections for those justices.
Cruz referred to incidents in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion rights back to the states, when protestors demonstrated outside several justices homes.
“Not a single Democrat senator that I ever saw in this committee was willing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland to account for flagrantly disregarding the federal criminal law because the Biden administration agreed with the protestors and wanted the justices harassed at their homes,” Cruz said.
Booker called Cruz’s statement a “patent lie” and referred to the Supreme Court Police Parity Act of 2022, which granted authority for members of Supreme Court justices families to receive police protection.
Cruz retorted with an example of comments that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made which appeared to threaten justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, while Schumer spokes at a pro-abortion rally in 2020. Schumer has since apologized for his comments.
Cruz’s retort drew sharp criticism from Booker about past comments made by Trump, for which he claims the president never apologized. Booker took issue with Cruz’s “hypocrisy” for not condemning the president’s similar comments.
“I don’t think Donald Trump would know an apology if it hit him in the head,” Booker said. “You are very deep into the waters of hypocrisy in your criticism of Chuck Schumer,” Booker added to Cruz.
The fierce partisan fighting between the two senators was representative of the contentious nature at the center of an issue between Democrat-appointed federal judges and the Trump administration as nationwide injunctions continue to plague many executive actions.
