Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin says the high court ‘is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making.’
The Senate Judiciary Committee urged Congress to require the Supreme Court to enforce judicial ethical standards in an investigative report that was released on Dec. 21.
Action on the report seems unlikely as Republicans gear up to assume control of the Senate next month. Republican leadership opposes the Democrat-sponsored court reform proposals.
Congressional Democrats have been demanding reforms in recent years as they have grown increasingly incensed by Supreme Court rulings they disagree with on issues such as abortion, gun rights, environmental policy, and the power of the administrative state.
Republicans say the proposed Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT) is unconstitutional and motivated by a partisan animus. The bill, introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), would empower a panel of lower court judges to investigate complaints against the justices and order disciplinary actions.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote in July 2023 but it has since been stalled.
The 921-page report by the panel’s Democrat majority, which has been sharply critical of the high court—especially after President-elect Donald Trump added three conservative-leaning justices to the court in