Alina Habba, a top attorney and White House adviser for President Donald Trump, responded angrily to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after he blasted Trump’s decision to freeze federal grant programs. Schumer had called the move “lawless, dangerous, destructive, cruel… illegal… unconstitutional” and mentioned that the New York attorney general was ready to take the issue to court. Habba, however, dismissed Schumer’s criticism, saying that what matters isn’t the law itself but what the White House counsel and the attorney general say about it.
During a Fox News interview, Habba took aim at Schumer and his views, saying: “Your attorney general is not the attorney general! We have an attorney general. That will be Pam Bondi.”
She then argued that Schumer’s opinion on the law didn’t matter. “What your opinion is on what the law is doesn’t really matter. It’s what the White House counsel says and what our attorney general of the United States says.”
“So Chuck can check his attitude at the door, but I’m not really surprised by him,” Habba added.
Fox News host John Roberts pushed back on Habba’s statement, reminding her that Pam Bondi isn’t yet the attorney general.
“She may get voted out of committee tomorrow,” Roberts pointed out. “Why are Democrats dragging their feet on confirming her?”
Habba responded, “It’s a real problem. And President Trump’s made it clear that they better cooperate and push our people through.”
Despite Habba’s insistence, the Constitution lays out that the Supreme Court is the ultimate authority when it comes to interpreting laws passed by Congress.
The court’s website states, “The Court is the highest tribunal in the Nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.”
Watch the interview in the clip below: