Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) compared Congress and the tactics being used by his Democratic colleagues to high school antics as Senate Republicans and Democrats split over a Supreme Court ethics bill.
Kennedy said in an interview on Fox News Channel on Tuesday that, at times, Congress was "like high school except no one graduates."
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"There are members of Congress that, if you do something they don't like, they will try to hurt you. And I'm not saying this is true of all of my colleagues, but I believe that for many of my colleagues, this legislation is not about ethics," the senator from Louisiana said.
Sen. @JohnKennedyLA: "Sometimes Congress is like high school except no one graduates."
— GOP (@GOP) July 25, 2023
"Some of my [Democrat] colleagues are angry at the Supreme Court...if they could, they would expand the Court. So once they can't do that, so instead they're going to try to destroy it." pic.twitter.com/xa5pNRnxZD
The legislation Kennedy referred to is a bill that would impose more ethical standards for the Supreme Court, including new requirements for financial disclosures and recusal in cases in which a justice may have a conflicting interest. It stems from multiple reports about alleged unethical behavior on behalf of three justices — one liberal and two conservative.
Kennedy, like many Senate Republicans, strongly opposes the bill, saying the legislation is about partisan politics rather than true ethics.
"Some of my colleagues are angry at the Supreme Court, and they want to hurt this court. That's why, if they could, they would expand the court," Kennedy said. "So once they can't do that, so instead, they're going to try to destroy it from within."
Kennedy said the Supreme Court already had a code of conduct and that the legislation proposed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) was "unconstitutional."
Democrats’ SCOTUS “ethics” bill is unconstitutional under Article III.
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) July 25, 2023
Under our separation of powers doctrine, Congress doesn’t have the power to write a code of ethics for the Supreme Court any more than the Supreme Court has the power to write a code of ethics for Congress. pic.twitter.com/HrWt9ddufF
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"I don't think that the Congress has the power to write a code of conduct of ethics for the Supreme Court any more than the Supreme Court has the right to write a code of ethics for Congress," the Louisiana Republican said.
While Senate Republicans are adamant that the bill will not pass the full chamber, Senate Democrats are continuing to push for a full vote. With the filibuster, it is unlikely the legislation will get past the 60-vote threshold, as nine Senate Republicans will be needed to send it over to the Republican-controlled House — where it is likely not to be brought to the floor for a vote.