How far have congressional Republicans strayed from responsible rhetoric on the federal judiciary? Don’t ask.
Congress can’t lower judges’ salaries or fire them — provisions tucked into the Constitution by the Framers, who watched judges serve at the whim of King George III. But lawmakers can eliminate their positions altogether.
“We could reduce the size of the Supreme Court,” says Rep. Steve King. “It doesn’t take nine judges, it only takes one. It would just be Chief Justice William Rehnquist with his card table.”
It’s the kind of reckless language King has been using about the courts for a while now.
“[Courts] have defied federal law. And this confrontation now is the confrontation between the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, the will of the people and the judicial branch of government,” said Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican. “Constitutional authority will either be imposed upon the judicial branch of government, or we might as well board up the Capitol and turn this country over to the whims of the judges.”
Mr. King said he is planning a legislative strategy that will involve offering amendments to appropriations bills designed to “put the courts back in their appropriate constitutional place,” but said it is too early to say exactly what he will pursue.
In fairness, King acknowledged to Newsweek that his idea about reducing the size of the Supreme Court is not, right now, “under serious consideration.” That’s the good news. The bad news is the line between cranks ranting about politics in a bar and elected officials in Congress ranting about politics to Newsweek has been blurred. In fact, it no longer exists in any meaningful way.
There was a time — I think it was called the latter half of the 20th century — when lawmakers would not pop-off in the press about threats against the federal judiciary, reducing the Supreme Court to one justice, and putting the courts “in their place.”
Those were good times, weren’t they?