Senate Democrats last week passed a bill in committee that would revamp ethics and transparency standards for the court’s justices. But the bill has little chance of proceeding any further in the Senate.
The move responds to a series of news stories about luxury travel trips the justices have taken over the years, with many of the reports focused on Alito’s actions.
“Congress has the authority to set the Supreme Court’s budget and to infinitely expand the high court. But, according to Justice Alito, Congress cannot require SCOTUS to have a code of ethics like the rest of the federal government,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday. “Does that sound remotely logical?”
“Alito’s next opinion piece in the WSJ is about to be ‘I am a little king, actually. The Constitution doesn’t explicitly say I’m not,’” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) quipped.
The renewed criticism seems unlikely to faze Alito, who told the Journal he has stepped out of the traditional expectation that judges are “mute” in the face of political backlash.
“I marvel at all the nonsense that has been written about me in the last year,” he said. “At a certain point I’ve said to myself, nobody else is going to do this, so I have to defend myself.”
As one of the staunchest conservative jurists on the court, Alito has long drawn the ire of those on the left. Most notably, his authorship of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned abortion rights, has made him a particular lightning rod.
“Justice Alito has no business policing women’s private medical decisions,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), wrote on X in response to a post of Alito’s interview.
Several Democrats with legal backgrounds were quick to question Alito’s reasoning that Congress had no ability to regulate the Supreme Court.
“This view is more than controversial; it’s incorrect,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) posted on X. “As a government official, I welcome the American people holding me accountable—why doesn’t Justice Alito?”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is running against Porter in a contentious primary for the state’s open Senate seat in 2024, chimed in with agreement later on Friday.
“Let’s translate these statements from Justice Alito, real quick: What we do and how we do it, who pays for our trips and our vacations, or a family member’s tuition, is none of your damn business. So buzz off,” Schiff wrote on X. “They need an enforceable code of ethics.”