Top Republican Calls Out 'Fake News' About Expanding Seats On The Supreme Court

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lambasted the media Tuesday over coverage of Democratic propositions to add seats to the Supreme Court.

McConnell, who has rushed the nomination process for conservative judges, is concerned that recent press coverage hasn’t highlighted statements by prominent liberal justices about adding seats.

He took the media to task in his weekly press conference, expressing his “frustration” with coverage.

“I’ve never been one to complain about 'fake news' but I want to start with the total frustration I have with the coverage that most of you have engaged in with regard to the issue of expanding the Supreme Court,” McConnell said.

He referenced the opinions of two Democrat-appointed justices.

“I read story after story after story that does not mention that Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, two of the most important liberals in modern time, are opposed to court-packing,” he said. “So why don’t you include in these objective analyses of this issue that fact?”

Public reactions were largely unsympathetic, especially given that McConnell voted to replace Ginsburg with the diametrically opposed Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett’s confirmation was rushed through approval in a matter of weeks, coming right before a presidential election and in defiance of McConnell's reasoning in denying Merrick Garland a vote in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama nominated him after the death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia.

McConnell’s reputation for ruthless politics and flexible interpretation of congressional rules over the years has been met with fierce criticism. Los Angeles Times columnist Nicholas Goldberg called McConnell "the most shameless in Washington" for his rush to fill Ginsburg's seat.

It is noteworthy, however, that McConnell doesn’t attack the press as often as other Republican leaders. He paused during his briefing to emphasize that he doesn’t share Trump’s universal contempt for “fake news.”

Trump has been increasingly prominent in the run-up to the 2022 midterms, proclaiming that his “make America great” agenda is the only path forward and threatening those who stray from it with primary challenges.