Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Monday for referring to some Supreme Court justices as “anti-freedom” during a recent interview.
Cotton shared the remarks on “Fox & Friends” regarding Pelosi’s Sunday comments on CNN.
“I think it’s funny that Nancy Pelosi calls this an anti-freedom court. If the justices do rule along the lines of that opinion that was scandalously leaked a couple weeks ago, it would simply be empowering the American people to make choices for themselves about how they’re going to govern themselves as opposed to letting those choices be made by nine unelected lawyers in Washington,” Cotton said.
The senator also commented on the attitude as fitting with how Democrats have continued to act in response to decisions they do not like.
“It’s just in keeping with the Democrats’ practices of trying to destroy institutions if those institutions don’t produce the results they want, even when in reality, it’s simply giving choices back to the American people,” Cotton added.
The leaked opinion and illegal protests at justices’ homes shouldn’t be surprising.
When Democrats don’t get what they want, they try to destroy the institution. pic.twitter.com/H9ukRHs00o
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 16, 2022
Pelosi made the controversial comment during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Who would have ever suspected that a creature like Donald Trump would become President of the United States, waving a list of judges that he would appoint, therefore, getting the support of the far-right, and appointing those anti-freedom justices to the court?” she told CNN anchor Dana Bash.
“The fact is, this is a dangerous Court to families, to freedom in our country. And that is why people have to mobilize. And my saying is: we don’t agonize, we organize,” Pelosi later added.
Bash also asked Pelosi, “Would you encourage private companies to provide travel for abortions as a health benefit?”
“Well, of course,” Pelosi responded.
In addition to her interview, Pelosi also applauded the “righteous anger” of abortion-rights activists in a letter sent last Monday to fellow House Democrats to encourage them to carry on the fight against the pro-life movement.
Pelosi’s letter was sent just one week after a leaked majority opinion from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was published, revealing a potential overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
“With this draft ruling striking down the nearly fifty-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade and undermining the Constitutional right to privacy, Republicans would rip away women’s right to make the most intimate and personal decisions. If handed down, this decision by GOP-appointed Justices would mean that, for the first time in our history, America’s daughters will have less freedom than their mothers,” Pelosi wrote.
“While we have seen and heard extraordinary anguish in our communities, we have been moved by how so many have channeled their righteous anger into meaningful action: planning to march and mobilize to make their voices heard,” Pelosi added.
The Supreme Court’s final ruling has yet to be released regarding the high-profile case. However, the case’s outcome is expected to be announced near the end of the court’s current term in June.
House Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also forced a vote last week on the Women’s Health Protection Act to put senators on record regarding their support for abortion.
The vote failed to reach the 60 votes needed to pass under the Senate filibuster. All 50 Republican senators and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin opposed the bill, with 49 Democratic senators supporting it in the 49-51 vote.