Nancy Pelosi says she supports term limits for Supreme Court justices
Rep. Nancy Pelosi endorsed term limits for Supreme Court justices on Sunday during an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., endorsed term limits for Supreme Court justices on Sunday during an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki and said there should be a "discussion" about packing the court.
Psaki asked the former Speaker of the House if she supported term limits or an "expansion" of the Supreme Court.
"It’s been over 150 years since we’ve had an expansion of the court," Pelosi said. "It was in the time of Lincoln that it went up to nine. So the subject of whether that should happen is a discussion. It’s not, say, a rallying cry. But it’s a discussion. The president formed a commission, they did not recommend expansion of the court, that shouldn’t be the end of it."
"But there certainly should be term limits," she continued. "There certainly should be and if nothing else, there should be some ethical rules that would be followed. I had one justice tell me he thought the other justices were people of integrity, like a Clarence Thomas. I’m like, get out of here."
The MSNBC host also asked Pelosi if she was concerned about the legitimacy of the court amid ProPublica's reporting on Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi said she supported term limits for Supreme Court justices during an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki. (Screenshot/MSNBC/InsideWithJenPsaki)
"I think they have the opportunity to write some ethics rules for themselves," she said. "And that’s what the Chief Justice has said. We can do it ourselves. I see no action being taken there. But nonetheless, that’s what they’ve said. But I give credit to Senator Whitehouse. With the majority in the Senate, he is able, in his committee, to point out what needs to be done, to have integrity. Integrity on the court."
"It’s shameful how Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have been so cavalier about their violations of what would be expected of a justice of the Supreme Court," she added. "Here we have a body chosen for life, never have to run for office, nominated, confirmed, for life, with no accountability for their ethics behavior."
Psaki also noted Quinnipiac polling that found the Supreme Court's approval rating was at 30%, an all-time low.
Pelosi argued that 30% "seemed high."
The Democratic congresswoman also talked about abortion on the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer speak to reporters at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on April 28, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
PLANNED PARENTHOOD CALLS FOR COURT PACKING, TERM LIMITS IN NEW JUDICIAL REFORM PACKAGE
Pelosi said abortion remains a winning issue for Democrats, and one that helped stave off disaster for the party in the 2022 midterm elections.
"Everybody said we're going to lose 30, 40 seats," Pelosi said of the 2022 elections. "Last time we lost five and everybody says you had the wrong message. They were saying to me, you're going to owe an apology to the members because Dobbs is in the rearview mirror. But it wasn't. It was up front, and it is right up in front of women in our country."
Former Supreme Court justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer join Chief Justice John Roberts and current associate justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson for U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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She argued that the Roe decision should be overturned "one way or another."
"Our country has always been about expanding freedom," Pelosi said. "Until now, this court, ignoring its own precedent and the right of privacy in the Constitution. So we have to reverse that. And Congress has the right to do that one way or another."
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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