Hawley Has The Nerve To Accuse Dems Of Trying To ‘Overturn’ Past Elections With SCOTUS Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) makes a statement after voting in the Judiciary Committee to move the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court out of committee and on to the Senate for a full vote on October 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. Judge Amy Coney Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away in September. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Hawley
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) makes a statement after voting in the Judiciary Committee to move the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on October 22, 2020. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images).
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who exerted an all out effort to overturn former President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election, accused Democrats seeking to expand the Supreme Court on Thursday of waging an attack on democracy.

“This is an attack on our democracy,” Hawley said of the court expansion effort in a statement on Twitter Thursday. “Democrats want to remake the country in their own image. And they plan to use brute political force to rig the system — pack the Court, pack the Senate, and take over federal elections.”

The bill, which would expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court from nine to 13, was introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) on Thursday.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Hawley told the Senate press pool. “It is a deliberate attempt to fundamentally change a core institution of American government and effectively to overturn the results of past elections.”

Hawley’s argument linking the bill with an affront on democracy, comes after the Missouri lawmaker helped wage what culminated in a deadly attack on democracy when he set out to object to Electoral College votes from states during a final certification of President Joe Biden’s White House win on Jan. 6.

Hawley’s outrage over the “political brute force” of the bill follows successive conservative victories on the court, when Senate Republicans pushed to fill three vacant seats on the high court with Trump nominees, including one who was confirmed just days before the 2020 election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters on Thursday that she supported a White House decision to launch a commission to study the structure of the Supreme Court, which has fluctuated in size but has remained at nine seats since 1869.

“I support the President’s commission to study such a proposal,” Pelosi said. “I don’t know that that’s a good idea or a bad idea. I think it’s an idea that should be considered.”

Responding to a reporter question on the issue, she added: “I have no plans to bring it to the floor.”

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. “It’s a terrible idea,” Hawley told the Senate press pool. “It is a deliberate attempt to fundamentally change a core institution of American government and effectively to overturn the results of past elections.”

    Great, I guess now Thomas Dewey will be replacing Biden.

  2. 13 federal judicial circuits?

    13 Supreme Court Justices seems to make perfect sense to me.

    Or is that too much like equal representation for the GQP?

  3. I read a piece recently that mapped out how the more unhinged these assholes are, the more money they raise. Sadly, it’s a winning formula and it will continue until the perpetrators are punished by voters.

    Sadder still, I don’t see that happening in the short term.

    As some sage once wisely said: “You’ll never go broke betting on the stupidity of [some] American voters.”

  4. Unless you’re expecting your payout to come from a T**** casino…

  5. Don’t get mad at Hawley. It’s what he wants. Laugh at him instead. He doesn’t take that well.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

97 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for marincousa Avatar for sandyh Avatar for DuckmanGR Avatar for digitusmedius Avatar for inversion Avatar for sniffit Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for sparrowhawk Avatar for bonvivant Avatar for tecmage Avatar for darrtown Avatar for tena Avatar for texastwostep Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for Anarchy_Bunker Avatar for polisong Avatar for maximus Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for thomaspaine Avatar for emiliano4 Avatar for Volvo_Birkenstock Avatar for ClutchCargo Avatar for geographyjones

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: