'The Signs Of A Court Run Amok': Chuck Schumer Urges Support For Congressional Reform Of SCOTUS

2 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about proposed reforms for the Supreme Court.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Scottis, Supreme Court of the United States. No democracy can hope to survive if it can't

00:06ensure accountability. That's a hallmark of a democracy, an American democracy in particular.

00:12This was the stern warning handed down to us by the framers of the Constitution.

00:18Accountability is how power is checked, how consent to the governed is secured,

00:23and how trust between the people and their institutions is preserved.

00:29Later today, President Biden will speak at the LBJ Presidential Library on the need for

00:33accountability for the U.S. Supreme Court, where it is desperately needed.

00:41The President published an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining his ideas,

00:46and we'll expand on them this evening. I believe the President is right to say

00:50aloud what many Americans already think. The Supreme Court is a morass.

00:56I am particularly pleased President Biden called for undoing the damage of the Court's

01:00recent immunity decision. I think Congress should pursue the idea through legislation.

01:05I am working with my colleagues on the best way to proceed.

01:09A few years ago, the Supreme Court was easily the most trusted institution in government.

01:14But today, confidence in the courts is at an all-time low. For over a year,

01:19Americans have learned how some justices have accepted millions of dollars in lavish gifts

01:24from right-wing benefactors that at the same time had business before the Court.

01:29They were funding these groups to pursue their right-wing agenda before the Court.

01:33And all of this happened in total secrecy and possibly, possibly in violation of the law.

01:40And at the same time, the MAGA justices have rammed through a flurry of hard-right decisions,

01:48reversing decades of precedent. They almost seem to ignore it from time to time when they want to.

01:54On reproductive freedoms, on affirmative action,

01:56on gerrymandering, on administrative law, and so much more.

02:00These decisions on choice and so many other issues are way out of the mainstream.

02:07Then one month ago, the MAGA justices ruled that the President of the United States is,

02:12in essence, above the law when it comes to his official acts.

02:17The conservative majority's ruling was the very antithesis of the kind of

02:22accountability our framers envisioned. The MAGA Court more or less echoed Richard Nixon's

02:28infamous view that, quote, when the President does it, that means it's not illegal.

02:34These fringe rulings and ethical scandals are not the signs of a healthy Supreme Court.

02:40They are the signs of a court run amok.

02:44The good news is that the Constitution provides a remedy to the Supreme Court's current morass.

02:49Congress has the authority to exercise strong checks on the judiciary through legislation,

02:55and Congress has the authority to speak on constitutional issues.

03:00The Constitution is clear. The Supreme Court does not get the final word.

03:05An option I am seriously considering is drawing up legislation clarifying that the President is

03:11not immune from violations of federal law. One of the justices recently claimed there

03:18is no provision in the Constitution that gives Congress authority to regulate the courts.

03:23I respectfully suggest that this justice re-read the Constitution,

03:28because it's plain as day that Congress is well within its rights to conduct oversight.

03:34Accountability shouldn't be a dirty word when we talk about the Supreme Court.

03:38Americans across the ideological spectrum agree that checks and balances are necessary for our

03:43system to thrive, and they agree those checks should apply to the Supreme Court just as they

03:48apply to other branches of government. It's no wonder the Court's positive ratings are at an

03:54all-time low. If they can't straighten it out themselves, Congress should.

'The Signs Of A Court Run Amok': Chuck Schumer Urges Support For Congressional Reform Of SCOTUS

Category

Transcript

Recommended