Jim Clyburn: Partisan votes are 'not what this country is about'

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Democratic Rep. Clyburn: Divisiveness not what this country is about

Jim Clyburn blasts the left-right divide and says that Republicans and Democrats should stop throwing bottlenecks into politics.

House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., offered his opinion on "Sunday Night in America" regarding a potentially partisan Supreme Court nomination process.

Fox News host Trey Gowdy introduced the segment by remarking how recent judicial confirmation processes have become split with almost no Republican or Democrat voting across party lines. Clyburn agreed, noting that he doesn’t expect that attitude to change any time soon.

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Chairman Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks as Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell testifies on the Federal Reserve's response to the coronavirus pandemic during a House Oversight and Reform Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP) (AP)

"I’m hoping we can get back to that. I don’t see it happening any time soon unless there is a significant surge among voters in the next election. The fact of the matter is what you see happening with the Supreme Court is happening across the country," Clyburn said.

He compared the partisan efforts to what he described as schools attempting to suppress Black History Month but lambasted both Republicans and Democrats for refusing to work to a "more perfect union."

"For some reason, the country seems to be retreating and moving away from what I call a pursuit of perfection, a more perfect union. That is what we’re about. We’re not a perfect country, but we always should stay in pursuit of perfection," he said. "That is happening all over in the schools in the courts in the legislature, time after time. Votes come up, and not a single Republican will vote for it or a single Democrat will vote for it. That to me is not what this country is about." 

FILE - In this April 23, 2021, file photo members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

Clyburn acknowledged recent bipartisan efforts of Congress to honor Joseph Rainey, the first Black person to serve on the House of Representatives. However, he also warned about the potential to repeat the same issues that followed Rainey.

"I said yes, there was a lot of progress in 1800s are but something happened in 1895 when South Carolina came up with a new constitution that took away all of the rights that had been given to people of color. Now, we seem to be moving in the same direction. We’d better be careful. We’re talking about how much we have gained just because I’m sitting in Congress today does not mean there will be a 10th person," Clyburn said.

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Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announces his retirement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. President Biden looks on. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Gowdy asked whether Clyburn could say anything about the current process of President Biden nominating a replacement for Justice Stephen Breyer.

"I think process is sort of in its final phase. I suspect that the president will hold to his timetable of naming someone before the end of the month. And probably address that candidate in his State of the Union address that we expect to get on March 1," Clyburn said.