Trump lawyer David Schoens Jewish faith may explain why he covered his head while drinking

About four minutes into an impassioned argument that former president Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is unconstitutional, attorney David Schoen paused to take a sip of water.

“This is about our Constitution and abusing the impeachment power for political gain,” he declared Tuesday as he unscrewed the cap on a plastic water bottle. Then Schoen, one of Trump’s defense lawyers, placed his right hand on his head as he tipped his chin back to take a drink.

The moment and others like it ignited intrigue, debate and some mockery from people on social media who found the action unusual. While Schoen hasn’t given a public explanation, some experts on Orthodox Judaism said the gesture may be related to Schoen’s faith.

Schoen, an Orthodox Jew, often wears a kippa, a skullcap meant to show reverence for God. But the fact that Schoen didn’t don one in the Senate on Tuesday made some speculate that he reflexively touched his head because he usually has to hold his kippa on when he takes a drink. Others suggested that Schoen may have been saying a quick prayer since it’s Jewish tradition to pray before eating and drinking, and so was covering his head as a sign of respect.

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Representatives of Schoen’s law firm did not respond to emailed questions, but Schoen told reporters Tuesday that he “just wasn’t sure if it was appropriate” to wear a kippa in Congress and didn’t “want to offend anybody.” Although Congress permits religious head coverings, Schoen said people sometimes stare at kippas, creating awkwardness.

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There’s precedent for Jews choosing not to wear a kippa in Congress: Then-Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) donned a kippa while attending his Orthodox synagogue but generally did not wear one on the Senate floor, according to a 2000 profile in the New York Times. He did not respond to an interview request Wednesday.

“Head coverings have always been something of an issue in public or official settings,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of the Jewish outreach organization American Friends of Lubavitch. “Some people have worn them, and some have not.”

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Many attorneys remove their kippas before entering a courtroom, even if they observe the faith in other ways, Shemtov said. Some worry that a judge will think differently of them if they wear the kippa, while others are trying to avoid anything that might distract from the hearing’s topic.

Since Schoen was not wearing a kippa in the Senate, either scenario that observers have floated could be true, Shemtov said: Schoen was probably either subconsciously holding the spot where a kippa would normally slip from or saying a prayer before drinking — although Jews would typically pray only before starting to drink and not before each sip.

Saying a blessing before eating or drinking is traditional, Shemtov said, and Jews rarely participate in that kind of ritual prayer without a head covering. Whether a person’s own hand can substitute for a kippa is a matter of debate among Jews, but Shemtov said he believes it’s an appropriate symbolic gesture as a last resort.

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Schoen’s instinct to hold his head while drinking was recognizable to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious and intergroup relations for the American Jewish Committee. He said he viewed the gesture as an unusual but understandable way for Schoen to cover his head while praying or because he associates drinking itself as a holy act that should occur with a covered head.

That covering usually takes the form of a garment, Marans said, but Jews often reflexively use their hands if they’re not wearing a kippa.

“Sometimes what the people do is as important as what the tradition might demand of them,” he said.

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Aaron Keyak, who directed Jewish engagement for President Biden’s campaign, said he interpreted Schoen’s action as more likely an instinctive movement as if to hold a kippa in place than part of a prayer ritual. He said the gesture is familiar to people who wear the head coverings, and the fact that Schoen did it with each sip makes him think it wasn’t associated with a prayer.

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Keyak, an Orthodox Jew, said Schoen’s expressed discomfort with wearing a kippa in the Senate is a reminder that many Americans don’t feel entirely free to express their faith in public. For that reason, he said Schoen’s decision not to don the skullcap was unsurprising.

“People who strive to live an Orthodox life and also engage in modern culture are constantly balancing the two,” Keyak said.

Schoen’s recent efforts to balance his religion with his high-profile law career included asking the Senate to pause Trump’s impeachment trial over the weekend so he could observe the Jewish Sabbath. He later withdrew his request, saying other defense attorneys could take his place Saturday.

Marans said he welcomed the public discussion of Jewish rituals that has resulted from Schoen’s faith entering the spotlight this week. The chatter about Schoen’s hand gesture while drinking, he said, turned out to be “one of these wonderful teaching moments for America.”

Mike DeBonis and Michelle Boorstein contributed to this report.

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