Rick Santorum said Monday that President Donald Trump “bowed to the elite in Washington” by picking Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court nominee.
“Well, I think that Donald Trump said he was going to energize the base with this pick. I don’t think he did that,” the Republican former Pennsylvania senator and CNN political commentator told Chris Cuomo on CNN’s “Cuomo PrimeTime.”
Kavanaugh has been dubbed a Washington insider, having worked in both Bush administrations, and is currently a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit. The 53-year-old is a graduate of Yale Law School, and also worked on independent counsel Ken Starr’s investigation of President Bill Clinton.
“He is from Washington,” Santorum said. “He is the establishment pick. He is the Bush pick.”
“It just seems like Trump in this case just bowed to the elite in Washington. I think that’s going to rub a lot of people the wrong way,” Santorum added.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a game changer, but I think it’s not a, ‘Yeah, let’s go get them,’ kind of moment for Trump.”
Kavanaugh, Trump’s second nomination to the US Supreme Court, must confirmed by the Senate.
CNN’s Eric Bradner, Joan Biskupic and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.