![Chuck Schumer gets obliterated online over embarrassing gaffe about racial makeup of the Supreme Court](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=29234358&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C43%2C0%2C164)
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer faced some online ridicule and mockery after he made a verifiably false claim about the historic racial makeup of the Supreme Court.
Schumer was assailing Republicans in a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate when he claimed that the highest court in the land had only white male justices until 1981.
“Until 1981, this powerful body, the Supreme Court, was all white men. Imagine. America wasn’t all white men in 1981, or ever," Schumer said.
“Under President Biden and this Senate majority, we’re taking historic steps to make the courts look more like the country they serve by confirming highly qualified, diverse nominees,” Schumer continued.
Critics of Schumer took to social media to blast him for erasing the historic career of Thurgood Marshall, who served on the Supreme Court for 24 years after being nominated by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. Marshall was the first black American to serve on the Supreme Court.
"Whoever wrote this speech is in deep trouble. Thurgood Marshall was appointed in 1967, the first ever African American justice," read one tweet.
"The Senate Majority Leader (and his speechwriter) erasing Thurgood Marshall from the history books is not something I had on my bingo card for today," joked NRSC communications director Chris Hartline.
"Diversity on the Supreme Court is such a hugely important issue to Chuck Schumer that he doesn’t even know about Thurgood Marshall," read another tweet.
"Out: Forgetting Sarah Marshall In: Forgetting Thurgood Marshall," joked another critic.
Some pointed out that Schumer made his embarrassing gaffe at the beginning of Black History Month.
Schumer later apologized for the historical snubbing of the great Supreme Court justice.
Sorry that I misspoke earlier today. Of course, I remember the dedication and legal excellence that Thurgood Marshall brought to the Supreme Court.— Chuck Schumer (@Chuck Schumer) 1643915500
"Sorry that I misspoke earlier today. Of course, I remember the dedication and legal excellence that Thurgood Marshall brought to the Supreme Court," he tweeted.
Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer Says Supreme Court Was "All White Men" Until 1981, Which Is Not Truewww.youtube.com