WASHINGTON (CN) — One of the Senate’s foremost advocates for Supreme Court reform introduced a measure Wednesday which he said would give lawmakers a streamlined mechanism for checking the high court’s “erroneous interpretation” of federal law.
The Supreme Court Review Act, introduced by Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, would among other things create a system to expedite Senate processes for passing laws that paper over high court rulings.
Congress can already use its legislative power to respond to Supreme Court rulings its feels are too restrictive or otherwise misinterpret statute — and lawmakers have done so for decades. But, according to Whitehouse, the process has become too unwieldy to effectively respond to a politicized high court.
“The increasingly unmoored right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has conveniently discarded textualism and originalism and trampled precedent to deliver political victories for Republican donor interests,” the Rhode Island Democrat wrote in a statement. “Congress shouldn’t sit idly by, hampered by special-interest-fueled gridlock and outdated Senate procedures, as the Court eliminates constitutional protections for Americans.”
If made law, Whitehouse’s legislation would create a process by which lawmakers could author a joint resolution disapproving Supreme Court rulings. The mechanism would be similar to one laid out in the existing Congressional Review Act, which provides Capitol Hill with an expedited process for rolling back rules from federal agencies.
The measure would also lower the voting threshold for such disapprovals to a simple majority and would limit the process only to recent Supreme Court rulings and block “non-germane” changes to federal law, which Whitehouse said would prevent abuse. Further, the bill would give members of the minority party an avenue to propose alternative changes to the law.
“This legislation makes it crystal clear that Congress can legislate and take action when the court takes away fundamental rights,” said Masto.
The proposed measure enjoys support from a slew of court reform advocacy organizations, including People for the American Way, Fix the Court and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Gabe Roth, director of Fix the Court, said in a statement that Whitehouse and Masto’s legislation was a “sensible proposal” that would cement Congress’ constitutional authority to oversee the courts.
“The Supreme Court’s unofficial mascot might be the tortoise, but things are moving pretty fast on First Street as of late, so it’s critical that lawmakers have tools they need to respond when the court plays superlegislature,” said Roth.
The Supreme Court Review Act is just the latest of an arsenal of bills from Democrats aimed at clamping down on a high court which they paint as needlessly politicized and ethically dubious.
Whitehouse himself has championed the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency, or SCERT, Act, which is aimed at forcing the justices to adopt an enforceable code of ethical standards. The measure came amid a cascade of reports that Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito failed to report lavish gifts and vacations provided to them by wealthy conservative benefactors.
In the House, Georgia Representative Hank Johnson is backing a bill that would establish 18-year term limits for justices. His measure would also give every president two new Supreme Court picks.
And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed legislation that would paste over the court’s controversial July ruling handing former President Donald Trump broad legal immunity for official acts of office while he faces prosecution for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election
These Supreme Court reform efforts in Congress got a boost over the summer from the White House, as President Joe Biden came out in favor of a binding ethics code and term limits for the justices. Despite that, lawmakers have yet to pass any such legislation.
Part of that is thanks to vehement opposition from Republicans, who have long framed their colleagues’ reform efforts as a partisan response to rulings from the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. The Senate GOP blocked Democrats from passing Whitehouse’s SCERT Act back in June, with South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham declaring at the time that it would be “dead on arrival.”
As of Wednesday evening, the Supreme Court Review Act had yet to be assigned to a committee for debate.