Democrats in Congress pushed back on Justice Samuel Alito after he stated that Congress has “no authority” to regulate the Supreme Court under the Constitution.
Justice Alito added that Congress “did not create the Supreme Court,” coming weeks after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to approve a bill that would mandate an ethical code for the top U.S. court.
“I don’t know that any of my colleagues have spoken about it publicly, so I don’t think I should say,” Mr. Alito told the Journal. “But I think it is something we have all thought about.”
According to its website, “The Constitution provides for the existence of a Supreme Court, but leaves to Congress the decision whether to establish inferior federal courts.”
One part of the Constitution says that the “Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.” Some have interpreted that clause as meaning that Congress does have some ability to regulate the high court in some way.
With his remarks, Justice Alito is now likely to face more criticism from Democrats and increased scrutiny from corporate and left-wing news outlets, which have repeatedly targeted Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas—both appointed by Republican presidents—in recent months. Notably, Justice Alito wrote the landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last year, returning the decision on whether to regulate abortions or not to the states.
In contrast to Democrats’ claims, Republicans have criticized the effort as a bid to either reduce the power of the Supreme Court, which currently has six justices appointed by Republican presidents. Because the GOP controls the House, it’s unlikely that Democrat senators’ efforts to force an ethics bill on the Supreme Court will see the light of day.
Democrats Respond
Before Mr. Alito’s comments were published, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said last week at a committee hearing that the Supreme Court’s “financial disclosure requirements are a law, passed by Congress; its recusal requirements are a law, passed by Congress; and the body that implements financial disclosure and code of conduct issues is the Judicial Conference, a body created by Congress.After Mr. Alito’s comments were made, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) went on Twitter, also known as X, to say that Congress has some oversight over the court.
What Did Chief Justice Say?
However Chief Justice John Roberts has previously said that he doubts Congress has the capacity to regulate the high court and its justices.Justice Alito’s comments to the Journal come as he temporarily blocked a lower court’s decision to strike down a regulation targeting privately made firearms known as “ghost guns” as the Supreme Court weighs a request from the Biden administration to reinstate the rule.