James Clyburn says supporting Clarence Thomas for supreme court ‘was mistake’
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- Democratic Congressman James Clyburn said supporting Clarence Thomas during his 1991 Supreme Court confirmation was “a mistake.”
- Clyburn also called for expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices and accused Thomas of abandoning the principles Clyburn believed he would uphold.
James Clyburn now says his support for Clarence Thomas during the Supreme Court’s 1991 confirmation battle was “a mistake.” The South Carolina Democrat had backed Thomas at the time, describing him as a personal and professional friend.
Clyburn spoke in Thomas’s favor during the nominee’s contentious confirmation hearings. He said then that their shared experiences of lifting minorities and advancing civil rights would help Thomas become a respected and accomplished jurist.
was a mistake
Clyburn now argues that Thomas abandoned those principles after joining the court. He described the justice as an extremist member of its hard-right bloc.
The congressman also called for expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices, adding a structural reform proposal to his criticism of Thomas’s judicial record.
a personal and professional friend
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Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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