WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — After allegations that some Supreme Court justices have received questionable real estate deals and trips, lawmakers on Capitol Hill want the high court to adopt new ethical standards.
A new bipartisan bill from senators Susan Collins and Angus King aims to force the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics for justices within a year and designate someone to handle complaints.
“There are no ethic guidelines, guardrails, at the highest court of the land. This seems ridiculous,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) said.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) added, “as they’re working to strip away basic rights they’re also failing to hold themselves accountable for some common sense ethical standards.”
In an interview with NewsNation, Texas Senator Ted Cruz slammed Democrats for questioning the ethics of Justice Clarence Thomas after recent reports show Thomas accepted undisclosed luxury vacations and made real estate deals with a GOP megadonor.
“This is all garbage, this is left-wing and frankly racist hatred of Clarence Thomas,” Sen. Cruz said.
However, Sen. Lujan says the concerns extend beyond Justice Thomas, adding, “Now there’s a question about a property sale with Justice Gorsuch.”
That sale happened shortly after Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court and he didn’t disclose that the buyer was the CEO of one of the nation’s largest law firms.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell says the accusations are political, furthering, “This is simply how the far left treats the rule of law…the justices have proven their sobriety and judicial temperament.”