WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a Democratic-sponsored bill that would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct.
“The highest court in the land cannot and should not have the lowest ethical standards,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a floor speech before the motion.
Durbin took to the Senate floor Wednesday and sought to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act by “unanimous consent,” which immediately faced Republican opposition.
As he promised to do Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., led a group of GOP senators in blocking the Democratic request, effectively stalling the legislation.
Graham called the bill an “unconstitutional overreach” that would “undermine the court’s ability to operate effectively.” He was joined by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and others in objecting.
“I do not think this bill is about ethics. This bill is about abortion,” Kennedy said on the floor Wednesday, accusing Democrats of pushing it because they’re angry that the court overruled Roe v. Wade.
That sparked a debate on the floor, with numerous Democrats chiming in to make the case for the bill as an instrument of transparency and a way to protect the legitimacy of the court.
The bill would require the justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate allegations of violations of the code and other laws, require them to explain decisions to recuse themselves from cases and improve disclosure rules when a justice is connected to a party or amicus in a case.
“The Supreme Court has squandered its almost mystical authority, its unique power in the federal government,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a floor speech.
Later he appealed directly to Chief Justice John Roberts, urging him to endorse the legislation.
In his floor speech, Durbin argued that the vote “should not be a partisan issue,” adding that it would be a “good thing” for both the court and the country.
The bill attracted blowback squarely along party lines, with a string of Republicans delivering floor speeches criticizing it ahead of the vote.
Graham said the bill is about “undermining” the court, rather than improving it. Kennedy argued that Democrats were motivated not by ethics but by abortion, referring to the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade.
Lee argued that Democrats were motivated by having cases before the court and their concerns about the outcomes of those cases.
Democrats also failed to pass the bill last summer as lawmakers voted along party lines, and it’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will bring it up for a vote through the normal legislative process.
“Chief Justice Roberts is supposed to be the guardian of the court’s reputation. In my judgment and the judgment of so many Americans, he’s derelict in that responsibility,” Schumer said Wednesday, adding that he would discuss the next steps with Durbin if Republicans blocked the ethics legislation.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue several major decisions in the next few weeks, including one on former President Donald Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in his quest to get the federal charges against him thrown out, as well as one in a Jan. 6, 2021-related case and one on the legality of medication used to perform abortions.
Justice Samuel Alito and his wife have faced scrutiny after The New York Times reported they flew an upside-down American flag outside their home in the days after the Jan. 6 insurrection. In response, Durbin called on Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election; he rejected the request.
Separately, Justice Clarence Thomas has been accused of acting unethically after it was reported last year that he failed to properly disclose trips and gifts paid for by wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow. Last week, Thomas reported a 2019 trip to Bali with Crow in his annual financial disclosure report. The report for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson showed she received concert tickets worth $3,700 from Beyoncé.
The Supreme Court adopted a new code of ethics in November that says that justices shouldn’t engage in political activity and that they are supposed to step aside from cases if their impartiality can be questioned. The code, however, is only self-enforcing.
