All six conservative Supreme Court justices were invited to President Donald Trump’s state dinner with King Charles III, including those whom he’s criticized since the court invalidated most of his global tariffs.
The guest list for Tuesday night’s dinner included Chief Justice John Roberts as well as Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas, as well as their spouses. None of the court’s three Democratic appointees were on the list.
Trump has targeted some of the conservative justices in increasingly personal terms since the court struck down the bulk of his global tariffs.
Soon after the ruling, he said Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett, the three conservatives who joined the liberals in the decision, were “an embarrassment to their families.”
In an April 22 post, he added that “certain ‘Republican’ Justices have just gone weak, stupid, and bad, completely violating what they ‘supposedly’ stood for.”
Less than a week later, the conservative justices who have angered Trump were set to enjoy a three-course meal including Garden Vegetable Velouté, spring herbed ravioli, and Dover Sole Meunière plus entertainment by US military musicians.
Earlier Tuesday, Retired Justice Stephen Breyer shook hands with the king during his Capitol Hill appearance for an address before a joint meeting of Congress. Breyer earned a degree from Oxford University, and is married to a daughter of a British viscount.
The justices are scheduled to hear the final oral arguments of the term on Wednesday.
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