The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down rulings on several divisive issues in recent days, prompting leftist officials and pundits to denounce the nation’s highest court — and its conservative majority in particular.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) weighed in on the recent decision striking down President Joe Biden’s ploy to forgive student loan debts for millions of Americans.
Although Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that the executive branch “does not” have the authority to unilaterally implement such a program, Ocasio-Cortez was among those who insist that he is wrong.
“What the court was also ruling on was with respect to the HEROES Act,” she said in a recent interview. “But our response is very strong, in that Congress has given the president that authority in the Higher Education Act. The president very squarely has as well, using his secretary of education, the ability to cancel student loans.”
Her diatribe went on to castigate justices for allegedly “expanding their role into acting as though they are Congress.”
Asserting that this supposed “abuse of power” is something that lawmakers “really must be focusing on,” the New York Democrat shifted gears to rail against allegations of ethics violations against certain conservative justices.
“I believe that if … Chief Justice John Roberts will not come before Congress for an investigation voluntarily, I believe that we should be considering subpoenas,” she added. “We should be considering investigations. We must pass much more binding and stringent ethics guidelines where we see members of Congress — where we see members of the Supreme Court potentially breaking the law.”
Congress has already called on Roberts to investigate claims that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito received gifts from influential individuals. Both justices have since defended their actions.
Nevertheless, Ocasio-Cortez declared that “there also must be impeachment on the table,” citing the legislature’s “broad level of tools to deal with misconduct, overreach, and abuse of power.”
'Impeachment On The Table' – Ocasio-Cortez Makes Stunning Statement After Biden Announces Decision. pic.twitter.com/I8zFGTSMsE
— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) July 2, 2023
She complained that “the Supreme Court has not been receiving the adequate oversight necessary in order to preserve their own legitimacy,” adding: “And, in the process, they themselves have been destroying the legitimacy of the court, which is profoundly dangerous for our entire democracy.”
