[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 186 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           U.S. Supreme Court

  Mr. President, on the Supreme Court, the American people are 
experiencing a severe crisis of confidence in the integrity of the 
highest Court in all the land. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is 
taking an important step to restore confidence in the Supreme Court by 
voting to authorize subpoenas to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, who have 
used their immense power to gain undisclosed access--undisclosed 
access--to Supreme Court Justices.
  I support Chairman Durbin and the Judiciary Committee's decision to 
authorize these subpoenas because Americans are sick of reading in the 
paper that rich MAGA extremists are using their yachts and jets and 
gifts to pal around with the Supreme Court and doing so largely in 
secret. These previous undisclosed reports of lavish gifts suggest 
there is a two-tiered system of justice, and that needs to be fixed.
  Americans know there is something shady going on when ultrawealthy 
MAGA extremists can basically buy face time with the Justices, who then 
turn around and overturn Roe v. Wade, gut affirmative action, block 
student debt relief, and green-light discrimination against LGBTQ 
Americans. The same millionaires--billionaires--who are giving gifts 
and giving trips to these Justices are the very same people pushing a 
whole lot of this agenda with the Supreme Court, and, whoa, lo and 
behold, the Supreme Court does it.

  The bottom line is, at the very least, the appearance of this kind of 
impropriety needs to stop, and Americans need to learn more. And the 
Senate is well within its right to look under the hood to ensure we can 
increase transparency, which these subpoenas would do.
  I support the Judiciary Committee's vote to authorize these 
subpoenas, and I thank Chairman Durbin and my Democratic colleagues on 
the committee for their work.