President Donald Trump has reportedly been grumbling behind the scenes about Supreme Court justices he personally appointed after a series of rulings that failed to go his way, including key decisions from Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump nominated Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Barrett during his first term in office, cementing a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court. However, the former president has grown disillusioned, especially as Barrett has occasionally broken from the court's right flank on major issues, according to CNN.
Trump's growing resentment reportedly came to a head following Barrett's vote in March against freezing nearly $2 billion in foreign aid, a decision that sparked backlash from some conservatives who had once championed her appointment. Around the same time, she joined liberals and Chief Justice John Roberts in allowing Trump's hush money sentencing to proceed.
Most recently, Barrett recused herself from a pivotal case about public funding for a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, resulting in a 4-4 tie that left a lower court ruling against the school intact. Sources say that decision especially annoyed Trump's allies.
Although Trump has refrained from publicly criticizing Barrett, he has reportedly discussed her performance with close advisers, called her "weak" and even questioned whether threats to her family might be influencing her rulings. Behind closed doors, Trump has asked whether Barrett needs more security and whether external pressures could be making her hesitant on key decisions.
"It's not just one ruling. It's been a few different events he's complained about privately," a senior administration official told CNN.
Despite the criticism, Barrett still votes with conservative justices the vast majority of the time, more than 80% last term, and has backed Trump in major cases, including the Supreme Court's July decision to grant him partial immunity.
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