Ocasio-Cortez: Supreme Court has ‘gone rogue’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court has “gone rogue” after it overturned Roe v. Wade last month, a move that upset Democrats who say several justices had not been forthcoming about their feelings regarding the 1973 landmark abortion rights decision during their confirmation hearings.

Ocasio-Cortez said the move from the conservative wing means a number of changes should be considered for the high court.

“I believe impeachment should be on the table. I believe court expansion should be on the table. I believe that ethics rules should be on the table. I believe that recusal requirements should be on the table,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. 

“I think all of it should be considered right now. And we shouldn’t be putting any tools out because of … the degree of which this court has gone rogue.”

Ocasio-Cortez also noted one Supreme Court justice whom she believed should be impeached. 

“I believe that Clarence Thomas should be impeached without a shadow of a doubt,” the New York Democrat said. 

Ocasio-Cortez noted a letter that she and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wrote to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) asking Democrats in the upper chamber to take a position on whether Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who were also a part of the majority opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, had lied under oath during their confirmation process.

Not all Senate Democrats, however, are on board with considering impeachment against some of the Supreme Court justices that joined the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“I don’t think it’s realistic,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend regarding impeaching Thomas. “I think it’s a mistake as to whether he’s going to be impeached. It’s not realistic, but [Thomas] should show good judgment. If this court is going to be credible, it has to be as apolitical as possible.”

Responding to Durbin’s apprehension about considering impeachment against Supreme Court justices, Ocasio-Cortez called it a “crisis of legitimacy.”

“Here’s where I think there’s a very serious issue: Is the United States Senate about to establish a new precedent that it is now acceptable and there will be no consequence for a nominee to lie to duly-elected members of the United States Senate in order to secure a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land?” she asked.