GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee walked out of a hearing Thursday in opposition to Democrats’ push to subpoena two conservatives linked to controversies involving Supreme Court justices.
Eleven Democrats voted in favor of authorizing the subpoenas, with all Republicans absent by the roll call’s end. The approval was largely symbolic since enforcement would require 60 Senate votes — and that’s a long-shot.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton gives us the background:
“The meeting came after weeks of partisan fighting among members of the Judiciary Committee over plans to subpoena conservative donor Harlan Crow and activist Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society, in response to reporting by ProPublica that revealed the two men played roles in taking conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on luxury vacations.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) declared, “This is about an ongoing effort to destroy this court, to destroy [conservative Justice] Clarence Thomas’s reputation.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) accused Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) of “destroying” the committee by calling for votes on judicial nominees without allowing a third round of debate on them earlier in the meeting.
Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued the subpoenas aren’t valid due to rules around having a committee quorum and time limits.
Read more here.
