In the wake of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling in Trump v. U.S., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York issued a statement condemning the high court’s “corruption crisis beyond its control.” But the congresswoman — who’s sometimes known by her “AOC” initials — didn’t stop there.
“Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy,” the New York Democrat added, referring to the immunity case. “It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture.”
To that end, Ocasio-Cortez vowed to introduce articles of impeachment against Supreme Court justices after Congress’ Fourth of July break. Evidently, she meant it. NBC News reported this afternoon:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. “The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large,” she wrote. She cited Thomas and Alito’s financial and personal entanglements as a “grave threat to American rule of law” and the “integrity of our democracy.”
AOC has already picked up some allies: Her impeachment resolutions are backed by eight original co-sponsors: Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee of California, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Jamaal Bowman of New York, and Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
The move also comes against a backdrop of several related efforts on Capitol Hill. Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden, for example, have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel as part of a potential criminal investigation into Thomas.
Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, meanwhile responded to the Trump v. U.S. ruling by vowing to introduce a constitutional amendment that would reverse the Supreme Court’s “harmful immunity decision and ensure that no president is above the law.” Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey added in a written statement that read in part, “We must take all available measures to reign in the increasingly unfettered power of this radical court, including … expanding the number of justices.”
Circling back to our recent coverage, I continue to think there are a couple of ways to assess efforts like these. The first is on the merits, and on that front, it’s easy to be sympathetic to the Democratic proposals. The Supreme Court’s radicalized Republican majority has taken indefensible steps in recent years, but to elevate the presidency above the law is a uniquely pernicious act.
This, coupled with recent ethics scandals, put Democratic efforts on firm ground.
The second, however, is more pragmatic. No sitting justice has ever been removed from office through the impeachment process, and the last time such a case even went to the Senate was 220 years ago. Given the Republican majority in the House, the earliest such a move could even be considered is next year, and if Democrats fall short of a majority, the idea would again be off the table.
Relatedly, the Constitution has never been amended to reverse a misguided Supreme Court decision; and while Congress has expanded the Supreme Court before, it’s been 155 years, and the odds of such an effort clearing Capitol Hill anytime soon are extraordinarily remote.
Or put another way, Democrats are taking the broader issues seriously, as they should, but those hoping to see their efforts amount to meaningful changes should probably lower their expectations.
But if Congress can’t fix what Republican justices have broken, what is the remedy?
There is “very little we can do except elect a Democrat [as president] who will appoint vacancies if Democrats hold [the] Senate,” Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee recently told Axios.
In other words, those looking for a near-term recourse shouldn’t look to Congress, they should look to voters, who now have an added reason to choose wisely in the fall.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
