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Late on Friday, President Trump expressed his disappointment with Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, both of whom he appointed during his initial term. The justices sided with the majority in a ruling that dismantled much of his ambitious tariff policies.
In a 6-3 decision earlier that day, Barrett and Gorsuch aligned with the Supreme Court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts to oppose the president’s application of an emergency statute central to his economic plans.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump commented, “The two United States Supreme Court Justices that I appointed, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, have ruled against us, despite the strong opposition they faced during their appointments. This is a scenario that never seems to occur among Democrats. They consistently vote against Republicans, no matter how solid our case is.”
This marked the second occasion on Friday that Trump criticized the justices by name. Addressing the media at the White House following the ruling, the president remarked that Barrett’s and Gorsuch’s decisions to oppose his administration’s tariff strategies were “an embarrassment to their families.”
When questioned by reporters about his nominations, Trump stated, “I don’t want to say whether I regret nominating them. I think their decision was terrible.”
It was the second time Friday that Trump lashed out at the two justices by name. During a news conference at the White House after the ruling was announced, the president said Barrett’s and Gorsuch’s decisions to rule against his administration’s tariff policies are “an embarrassment to their families.”
“I don’t want to say whether I regret nominating them. I think their decision was terrible,” Trump told reporters.
Barrett was nominated by Trump following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020. She was confirmed the following month, not long before Trump was defeated by former President Biden. Gorsuch, the president’s first Supreme Court nominee, was tapped almost a year after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death and later confirmed in April 2017.
Trump also turned his ire on the chief justice in the scathing social media post.
“At least I didn’t appoint Roberts, who led the effort to allow Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for years to continue to do so But we won’t let it happen. The new TARIFFS, totally tested and accepted as Law, are on their way! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” he concluded.
When asked by The Hill at Friday’s press briefing whether the justices who ruled against the tariffs were still invited to Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Trump said “barely.”
“They are barely invited. Three of them are invited. To be honest, I could care less if they come or not,” he said.