Senate Republicans block Democrats' Supreme Court ethics bill
Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic-sponsored bill that would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a code of conduct after Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Ketanji Brown Jackson faced scrutiny.
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.
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