WASHINGTON (AP) – Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch discussed the importance of civility and civics education in a speech at Washington’s Trump International Hotel.
Liberal groups say his decision to speak there raises questions about his independence from the president who nominated him.
Gorsuch’s speech came just a few days before the opening of the Supreme Court’s term, which begins Monday.
Liberal groups including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America briefly protested outside the hotel. They wrote in a letter that Gorsuch’s appearance at President Donald Trump’s hotel undermines the court’s “public legitimacy as an entity above partisan politics.”
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York also criticized Gorsuch’s appearance.