Pence slams Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as ‘a disappointment to conservatives’

Vice President Mike Pence blasted Chief Justice John Roberts as “a disappointment” over his rulings made on the nation’s highest court.

“We have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Pence said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Thursday. “But Chief Justice John Roberts has been a disappointment to conservatives.”

Pence pointed to Roberts’ decisive votes on multiple Supreme Court cases in recent months that were seen as losses to the Trump administration, including his move to strike down a contentious Louisiana law related to abortion.

“A narrow Supreme Court decision, striking down a Louisiana pro-life law that only said that doctors working in abortion clinics would have to have admitting privileges at local hospitals,” Pence said. “That’s a very modest restriction on abortion providers, but a narrow majority in the Supreme Court still said it was unacceptable.”

The 5-4 ruling made in June upset anti-abortion advocates, who are fighting a battle to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion. The decision was similar to a 2016 case that ended a measure in Texas, which the court deemed unconstitutional as it would have caused “undue burden” to access safe and legal abortion. 

Roberts, who was appointed to the court in 2005 by President George W. Bush, has also recently sided with the Democrat-appointed judges on cases related to LGBTQ rights and immigration.

Pence on Thursday also criticized a 5-4 ruling made last month that denied a Nevada church’s petition to overrule coronavirus limits and expand its attendance limit to 50 people, in which Roberts made the fifth vote, joining the liberals on the bench.

Pence’s public criticism of Roberts comes after a slew of several prominent Republicans expressed their anger over the chief justice’s recent moves, with some even calling for his removal from the court.

“The Chief Justice may believe that he’s protecting the institutional integrity of the Court, but in reality his politicized decision-making only undermines it,” said GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas after the abortion decision.  

At the time, Pence did not call Roberts out by name, but instead signaled the importance President Donald Trump’s reelection in order to appoint more conservative judges to the bench. 

Pence reiterated his stance, which has become a Trump campaign talking point, on Thursday.

“I think several cases out of the Supreme Court are a reminder of just how important this election is for the future of the Supreme Court,” he said. “It’s been a wake-up call for pro-life voters around the country who understand, in a very real sense, the destiny of the Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2020.”

“That’s why President Trump announced that he’s going to publish another list of men and women from which he will draw any future appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Pence added. “He did that in 2016, he kept his word. He’s gonna do that in the fall of 2020, and in the next four years, he’ll keep his word and appoint more principled conservatives to our courts.”

Lauren Frias contributed to this report.