Hawaii’s Attorney General Doug Chin on Thursday fired back at U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who called Hawaii “an island in the Pacific” earlier this week.
Sessions’ comments, made on “The Mark Levin Show,” not only appeared to diminish Hawaii, but also struck at U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, who issued a nationwide ruling halting President Donald Trump’s travel ban last month.
“President Trump previously called a federal judge in California a so-called judge. Now U.S. Attorney General Sessions appears to dismiss a federal judge in Hawaii as just a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific,” Chin said in a statement. “Our Constitution created a separation of powers in the United States for a reason. Our federal courts, established under article III of the Constitution, are co-equal partners with Congress and the President. It is disappointing AG Sessions does not acknowledge that.”
Chin has his own history with the Trump administration. He is the one who filed the lawsuit against Trump’s travel ban in March, leading Watson to grant a temporary restraining order against it.
The president has also criticized the judge’s decision and filed an appeal.
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Write to Abigail Abrams at abigail.abrams@time.com