House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said it is up to the American people and their representatives in Congress to pressure Alito and Thomas to recuse.
Read: Samuel Alito Is The Insurrectionist Threat To Democracy On The Supreme Court
Jeffries said on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House:
The American people and their representatives in the United States Congress in both the House and the Senate are gonna have to keep the pressure on the Supreme Court to be more transparent as it relates to the reasons why Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have not recused themselves as it relates to any of these matters connected to the violent insurrection, the efforts to halt the peaceful transfer of power. The big lie, the criminal cases that are now pending against the former president. These are reasonable questions that the American people should have actual answers to and they are not forthcoming.
And this is an extraordinary thing because the judiciary branch is a branch where you actually need legitimacy and credibility and the full faith and confidence of the American people. Because the decisions that they issue basically are permanent and unappealable. And so that’s why in order for them to be received in a manner consistent with our country as a nation of the rule of law anchored in the rule of law, there is a confidence deficit that’s gonna have to be confronted. And we’re going to uh use every tool that is available to us, though we are in the minority, to try to get the truth put forward for the American people.
Video:
Hakeem Jeffries, "The American people and representatives in the United States Congress in both the House and Senate have to keep the pressure on the Supreme Court to be more transparent as relates to the reasons why Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have not recused themselves." pic.twitter.com/3DekiHOrdw
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 24, 2024
Jeffries is correct. The odds of something being done without immense public pressure being brought down on the conservative Supreme Court majority is zero. The good news is that we have seen that the current majority is very sensitive to public pressure. They understand that their legitimacy depends on the public accepting their rulings.
Supreme Court reform has to happen because the current situation is a threat to democracy. The Supreme Court majority is corrupt and the American people must demand action.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association