Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took the opportunity to tweak President Donald Trump several times during a Tuesday confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Graham, a vocal critic of Trump, was a former 2016 Republican presidential rival and publicly admitted he did not vote for Trump on Nov. 8. Though Graham expressed his approval of Gorsuch as a qualified and worthy nominee, he simply couldn’t resist taking digs at the president.

“Quite frankly, I was worried about who he would pick. Maybe somebody on TV.”

“I think you’re a man of the law,” Graham told Gorsuch during the second day of confirmation hearings. “And I really want to congratulate the president [for picking you]. Quite frankly, I was worried about who he would pick. Maybe somebody on TV.”

Graham’s comment drew laughs from some of the senators and observers gathered at the hearing.

“But President Trump could not have done better in choosing you, and I hope people on the other side will understand that you may not like him — I certainly didn’t agree with President Obama, but I understood why he picked [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor and [Justice Elena] Kagan — and I hope you can understand why President Trump picked Neil Gorsuch and hope you will be happy with that, because I am,” Graham added.

[lz_jwplayer video=qNUWJWyL]

When he announced Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee, Trump noted that “millions of voters said this was the single most important issue for them when they voted for me for president.”

“I am a man of my word,” Trump said. “I made a promise to the American people if I were elected president, I would find the very best judge in the country for the Supreme Court … Today I am keeping another promise to the American people by nominating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.”

But since Trump’s inauguration, Graham and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have availed themselves of numerous opportunities to critique the president — particularly on the issues of immigration and national security.

During the Gorsuch hearing Tuesday, Graham also took the opportunity to entertain a favorite topic of left-wing activists and more extreme Democratic lawmakers: whether Trump could ultimately be removed from office.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

[lz_related_box id=”510546″]

“You have said several times [Trump] is not above the law,” Graham said to Gorsuch. “‘If you start waterboarding, you may be impeached.’ Is that a fair summary?”

Waterboarding is currently prohibited by U.S. law. Graham appeared to be referring to one of Trump’s earlier comments in which he said that “torture works.”

“Senator, the impeachment power belongs to this body,” Gorsuch said of Congress before reaffirming, “No man is above the law.”