Sen. Lindsey Graham is criticizing congressional Democrats’ attempts to establish a code of ethics for the Supreme Court as a partisan ploy.
“The worst thing could happen is for the United States Senate and the House to determine what cases the Supreme Court hears,” Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Senate Republicans, led by Mr. Graham, blocked a code of conduct bill earlier this month. It would have required the court to create a way to investigate allegations of justices breaking the code and require the justices to recuse themselves from cases if there is a conflict of interest. Mr. Graham called it “constitutional overreach.”
“They’re trying to micromanage the [Supreme Court Chief Justice John G.] Roberts’ court. They’re trying to destroy [Justices Samuel A.] Alito and [Clarence] Thomas because they don’t like the fact they’re conservative judges,” Mr. Graham said.
The high court has come under scrutiny in recent months, with reports of Justice Alito flying an upside-down American flag outside of his home after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and Justice Thomas failing to disclose gifts and trips paid for by a Republican megadonor.
Mr. Graham said Democrats are mad because former President Donald Trump “changed the court” by nominating three conservative justices.
“They’re squealing like stuck pigs because the Supreme Court no longer is a political body. It is actually looking at the Constitution and making constitutionally sound decisions versus political decisions. That’s the problem liberals have with the court,” he said.
If “Democrats can’t convince you that there’s something bad wrong with the court, they’re going to lose because most Americans believe that they’re not safer under President Biden than they were Trump,” he added.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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