In addition to openly refusing to pressure his caucus to unite against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is also helping his Republican counterpart ram through Trump’s far-right lower court nominees at a torrid pace.
Sparking immediate outrage from progressives, Schumer cut a deal with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday that allowed the GOP to fast-track votes on seven of Trump’s federal court nominees in exchange for… well, it’s not exactly clear what he received in return, outside of getting to go home for a few days.
“Schumer is utterly useless,” wrote journalist Chase Madar, a sentiment that was echoed across social media in response to the Democratic leader’s dealmaking.
Just hours after the deal was reported, all seven judges were confirmed, with the help of some Democrats.
Because these judges — selected with the help of the right-wing Federalist Society — are relatively young, they are now in a position to shape American law for decades to come, threatening the planet, workers, and women’s reproductive rights.
“Sen. Schumer, why are you cutting a deal with Mitch McConnell to fast-track Trump judges? Why won’t you whip the vote to stop Kavanaugh?” wrote Indivisible in response to reports of the senators’ agreement. “We’re fighting to protect our courts and save our democracy. We expect you to do the same.”
While Schumer received much of the backlash on social media following his agreement with McConnell, activist and writer Jonathan Cohn pointed out that rank-and-file Democrats deserve some blame as well, given that they actually outnumbered Republicans in the Senate chamber for some of Tuesday’s votes.
Fun fact: There were more Democrats than Republicans present in the Senate chamber for each one of these votes. pic.twitter.com/jqBJaXmkxB
— Jonathan Cohn (@JonathanCohn)