On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) said there should be term limits for the Supreme Court, and there are “huge ethical concerns about rubbing elbows with the president, going on Fox News and other outlets, but also taking trips with billionaires who have business before the court.”
Co-host John Berman asked, “Congressman, you were part of a plan calling for term limits on Supreme Court justices, arguing that long tenures can concentrate power and erode trust. How do you feel about how Democrats have it arranged in the House of Representatives, where there are no term limits for committee chairs? Republicans in power have term limits for committee chairs here. Given how you feel about term limits for Supreme Court justices, if you take back the House, would you support term limits for committee chairs?”
Olszewski answered, “Well, I’m someone, personally, who supports term limits across the board, including for members of Congress. But what I can tell you is, whether or not we’re talking about committee chairs or we’re talking about, actually, members of the House and Senate, people have to stand for election. And so, within our caucus, those chairs who were supported by the caucus have to be elected every Congress. And I have to stand before the voters every two years, just like senators stand every six years. I trust the American people will make a change because they’re unhappy with what they’re seeing from Congress now. But unfortunately, we don’t have that opportunity with the Supreme Court, who is not only undoing decades of precedents and taking back women’s rights, gutting the VRA, there [are] also huge ethical concerns about rubbing elbows with the president, going on Fox News and other outlets, but also taking trips with billionaires who have business before the court. I think it’s time we reform the Supreme Court, add those term limits, and move forward.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.