I write to demand urgent congressional action to defend the Constitution, restore Congress’s power, and hold the Supreme Court accountable.
The Court has embraced a radical “pocket rescissions” theory, letting the President cancel funds Congress has already appropriated. This is an unconstitutional line-item veto and a direct assault on Congress’s exclusive power of the purse.
At the same time, Justice Clarence Thomas has dismissed precedent as optional, while the Court prepares to reconsider fundamental rights like marriage equality. This is especially galling because during confirmation hearings, multiple justices swore under oath that they would respect precedent and honor the Constitution:
• Justice Kavanaugh testified that Roe v. Wade was “settled law of the land.”
• Justice Gorsuch assured senators that precedent “is the law of the land” and would be respected.
• Justice Barrett said she would apply precedent “faithfully and impartially.”
• Justice Thomas, when first confirmed, also affirmed his respect for precedent and judicial restraint.
Their subsequent votes and public remarks prove those assurances were false. To mislead the Senate under oath is perjury, and perjury is impeachable.
Ethics failures add to the crisis: recusals are unexplained, corruption allegations ignored, and public trust shattered. Internal self-policing has failed.
Congress must act decisively:
• Subpoena all justices to testify under oath about their confirmation statements and conduct.
• Investigate and impeach any justice found to have lied.
• Legislate reforms to impose a binding ethics code, recusal transparency, and independent oversight.
• Reassert congressional control of the purse by strengthening the Impoundment Control Act.
The Court has enabled a president to seize Congress’s spending power, questioned fundamental rights, and abandoned transparency. Justices are not kings—they are public officials bound by oath. If they lied, they must be impeached. If they abuse their power, they must be checked.
The survival of our constitutional democracy depends on Congress acting now.
First sent on September 29 by Coleman
