Durbin Statement on President Biden's Supreme Court Reform Proposal
SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on President Biden’s newly-released proposal to reform the Supreme Court:
“I thank President Biden for highlighting the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis. Through our ongoing investigation, the Senate Judiciary Committee has verified and reported lavish trips by sitting justices that were paid for by wealthy benefactors, including some previously unknown to the public.
“These episodes call into question the ability of justices to remain fair and impartial when these parties have interests before the Court. For instance, Justice Thomas’s spouse was on the payroll of political organizations seeking to overturn the 2020 election, yet Justice Thomas refused to recuse himself from cases on issues directly related to the January 6th insurrection. That includes the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision, which was wrongly decided and must be remedied.
“If Chief Justice Roberts won’t use his existing authority to implement reform, Congress should use its established Constitutional authority to require the Court to implement ethics reforms consistent with every other federal court. The American people are demanding Supreme Court ethics reform, and I will continue my twelve-year effort until it is done.”
Durbin previously announced that the Judiciary Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the impact of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision in September.
Durbin has repeatedly called for the passage of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, legislation that the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced last July. The bill would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct and other laws, improve disclosure and transparency when a justice has a connection to a party or amicus before the Court, and require justices to explain their recusal decisions to the public.
Last month, Durbin revealed omissions of gifted private travel to Justice Clarence Thomas from Harlan Crow in exclusively obtained information as a result of the Committee’s ethics investigation and subpoena authorization.
Durbin has been calling on the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct for more than a decade. He first sent a letter to the Chief Justice on this issue more than 12 years ago.
For full background on Durbin and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s efforts to deliver Supreme Court ethics reform for the American people and their ongoing investigation into the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis, visit this page that includes a timeline, releases, correspondence, and information on the SCERT Act.
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