Congressional Democrats fumed in the aftermath of Monday's Supreme Court ruling regarding presidential immunity and vowed "aggressive oversight and legislative activity" of the equal third branch of government.
Democrats were responding to the court's 6-3 decision that said presidents have immunity for official acts in their capacity. As it pertains to former President Donald Trump, the high court's ruling kicks back to a lower court whether his acts to allegedly overturn the 2020 election are tantamount to "official" or not.
The ruling set off Democrats who vowed to impose term limits and ethics rules on justices, expand the court and, in one case, impeach conservative justices.
"The Framers of the Constitution envisioned a democracy governed by the rule of law and the consent of the American people. They did not intend for our nation to be ruled by a king or monarch who could act with absolute impunity," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "House Democrats will engage in aggressive oversight and legislative activity with respect to the Supreme Court to ensure that the extreme, far-right justices in the majority are brought into compliance with the Constitution."
Wrote Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in a social media post: "It is incumbent up on the Legislative Branch to preserve the constitutional foundation of our democracy as three co-equal branches of government."
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., called for a "binding code of ethics" and expansion of the court; Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., called for expansion and term limits.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is vowing impeachment.
Other Democrats framed the fight-back scenario around November.
There is "very little we can do except elect a Democrat [as president] who will appoint vacancies if Democrats hold [the] Senate," Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., told Axios, dismissing his colleagues' kneejerk remedies as "aspirational."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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