Senate Democrats are furious that President-elect Trump has reached out to conservative Justice Samuel Alito amid a push by Trump for the high court to halt his criminal sentencing. Alito has repeatedly angered Democrats over reports that he took expensive trips hosted by wealthy donors and that his wife flew flags signaling her political rooting

The phone call centered on a former law clerk of Justice Alito’s. In the eyes of the Trump team, the clerk still needed to prove his loyalty to the president-elect.