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Tom Cotton Tells AG Garland What So Many Others Are Thinking: 'Thank God You Are Not on the Supreme Court'

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 28, 2021 1:00 PM

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) had a viral moment with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday when he told him "thank God you are not on the Supreme Court. You should resign in disgrace, judge." The heated exchange came while the attorney general was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an Oversight on the Department of Justice.

Cotton had been grilling Garland about a DOJ memo, said to be inspired by a complaint from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), that targets parents concerned with what their children are learning in school with law enforcement. The NSBA had said that the anger from concerned parents could be likened to domestic terrorism, and called for employing the Patriot Act. The NSBA has since apologized, but, as Katie reported on Wednesday, Garland is doubling down on the memo.

During his time to question the attorney general, Sen. Cotton called on Garland to apologize to Scott Smith, whose daughter was 15-year old daughter was raped in the bathroom by a 14-year old boy in a skirt. As Landon reported on Monday night, that 14-year old has since been found guilty by a judge when it comes to the incident.

As the senator mentioned, the Loudoun County School Board, which is where the rape occurred, covered up the incident. Smith had been arrested at a school board meeting on June 22 for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

"Senator, anyone whose child was raped," Garland began, as he stumbled a bit with his words, "the most horrific crime I can imagine, and is certainly entitled and protected by the First Amendment to protest to their school board about that."

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That answer did not satisfy Sen. Cotton, prompting his viral response, as he also called the actions of the NSBA "shameful," in addition to Garland's testimony also being "shameful."

Attorney General Garland had also testified before the House Judiciary Committee last week, where he drew similar ire. 

Some took to Twitter at the time to share what Sen. Cotton said this week. 

Merrick Garland, who previously served as the chief judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, had been nominated by then President Barack Obama in 2016 to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), then Senate Majority Leader, held up the nomination. He argued that with it being an election year when the American people would pick a new president, that president should make the pick. Ultimately, then President Donald Trump filled the vacancy with Justice Neil Gorsuch.

History is actually on the side of McConnell's argument. The country was under divided government, with a Republican Senate and a Democratic presidential administration. Rarely are Supreme Court nominations filled in such times. 

McConnell actually spoke at the Heritage Foundation that Thursday night, hours after Garland's hearing before the House hearing. The event, which Townhall attended, was to honor the service of Justice Clarence Thomas for his 30 years on the Supreme Court. 

It was the Democrats, McConnell said last Thursday night, who disabused the freshman senator who watched while Robert Bork was savaged during his Supreme Court hearing in 1987. McConnell thought at the time that "the Senate should stick to evaluating nominees with the competence and integrity and let presidents select legal philosophy as they liked. That's what I thought, back then." 

Leader McConnell went on to say that "it didn't take long for Ted Kennedy and friends to permanently disabuse me of that rather naive notion. I stood at my freshman's desk in the back row and explained that I'd be happy to play by the Democrats' new rules to make judicial philosophy a salient factor going forward." also reminding that "let's just say history has a funny way of making people reap what they sow."

While appearing on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Wednesday, Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin also called on Garland to resign. 

Another Virginia Republican candidate, Tina Ramirez who is running to unseat Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) in Virginia's 7th district, has called on Garland to resign, or for Congress to impeach him.