Sen. Tina Smith (D., Minn.) on Friday pushed back against a Democratic colleague for saying senators who support President Donald Trump's Supreme Court justice nominee are "complicit in the evil."
Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) spoke at a press conference earlier this week alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and religious leaders to talk about their opposition to Judge Brett Kavanaugh, adding that the press conference had "nothing to do with politics."
"You are either complicit in the evil, you are either contributing to the wrong, or you are fighting against it," Booker said.
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist asked Smith whether she believed Booker's comment was true.
"I think that [Kavanaugh] would interpret the Constitution in a way that I totally would disagree with," Smith said, prompting Geist to ask her again whether she believes the nominee is evil.
"I can't say that he's evil, but I think that some of the impacts of his decisions would have great harm to the American people," Smith concluded.
Smith has voiced her opposition against Kavanaugh on Twitter since Trump announced his nomination earlier this month, saying he was "hand-picked by extremist conservative groups."
Here’s what we know: Brett Kavanaugh was hand-picked by extremist conservative groups. That's not consensus. We should NOT be voting until we have a new Congress and let me be clear: I will oppose this nominee.
— Tina Smith (@TinaSmithMN) July 10, 2018
"What keeps me up at night? Thinking about cases Kavanaugh could hear on the Supreme Court. Trump is under federal investigation & Kavanaugh’s views on unchecked presidential power are questionable. YOU deserve a #SCOTUSpick that will hold a President accountable to the law," Smith tweeted.
What keeps me up at night? Thinking about cases Kavanaugh could hear on the Supreme Court. Trump is under federal investigation & Kavanaugh’s views on unchecked presidential power are questionable. YOU deserve a #SCOTUSpick that will hold a President accountable to the law.
— Tina Smith (@TinaSmithMN) July 14, 2018
Senate Republicans plan to hold the vote for Kavanaugh's confirmation before the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans control the Senate 51-49, but with Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) absent battling cancer, the vote is expected to come down to moderate Republicans and vulnerable Democrats in red states.