Topline
The Senate failed to advance a bill Wednesday designed to introduce ethics reform for the Supreme Court, with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., shooting down the effort as Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito faces ethics controversies and rejects calls to recuse himself from cases related to former President Donald Trump.
The bill was largely expected to be blocked by Republicans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Graham blocked a Democratic effort to pass the bill by unanimous consent, which requires the support of all senators.
It was a widely anticipated outcome following Republican pushback and votes against the bill when it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in an 11-10 vote last year, while Justice Clarence Thomas was embroiled in his own ethics controversies reportedly linked to accepting undisclosed financial favors.
The bill, known as the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, sought to enshrine a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices and grant the ability to bring complaints against justices who may have violated the code.
The legislation also tried to establish rules governing the disclosure of “gifts, income or reimbursements” for the Supreme Court, which has no binding code of conduct, unlike lower federal courts.
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Key Background
Democrats have largely embraced the bill since it was introduced in 2023, when Thomas found himself in hot water after ProPublica reported he accepted luxury flights and yacht trips from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow without disclosing them on legally required financial disclosures. Thomas also reportedly failed to disclose he accepted two years of tuition payments from Crow for his grandnephew, Mark Martin, in addition to selling a set of Savannah, Georgia properties to the megadonor. Thomas has since amended multiple financial disclosures to include two luxury vacations Crow gifted him. Alito has also become the subject of ethics scrutiny after The New York Times reported an upside-down flag was flown outside his house after the 2020 election and an “Appeal To Heaven” flag was flown at his New Jersey home last year. The latter flag was flown by some rioters during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Alito could be heard in a recently published secret recording with a documentary filmmaker posing as a conservative that the U.S. should return “to a place of godliness.” The justice has rejected calls to recuse himself amid his multiple ethics controversies.
Further Reading
Supreme Court Ethics Controversies: Alito’s Remarks On Secret Recordings Draw Concern (Forbes)
Supreme Court Ethics: Senate Committee Approves Court Reforms—Here’s What Would Change (Forbes)
