House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement Monday attacking the conservative justices of the United States Supreme Court.
Their statement was a response to the unprecedented leak of a decision draft in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — which indicated the possibility that the court was planning to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade and its companion Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Pelosi tweeted the statement in a short thread on Monday evening.
If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 3, 2022
“If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans,” she began.
“The Republican-appointed Justices’ reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” it continued. “Several of these conservative Justices, who are in no way accountable to the American people, have lied to the U.S. Senate, ripped up the Constitution and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation.”
Several of these conservative Justices, who are in no way accountable to the American people, have lied to the U.S. Senate, ripped up the Constitution and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 3, 2022
“This is at the expense of tens of millions of women who could soon be stripped of their bodily autonomy and the constitutional rights they’ve relied on for half a century,” she continued, adding, “The party of Lincoln and Eisenhower has now completely devolved into the party of Trump. Every Republican Senator who supported Sen. McConnell and voted for Trump Justices pretending that this day would never come will now have to explain themselves to the American people.”
The party of Lincoln and Eisenhower has now completely devolved into the party of Trump. Every Republican Senator who supported Sen. McConnell and voted for Trump Justices pretending that this day would never come will now have to explain themselves to the American people.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 3, 2022
Social media quickly divided down party lines as those on the left aimed their attacks at the Court — particularly the more conservative justices — and those on the right criticized the leak, which was by all accounts unprecedented.
Democrats quickly rallied to call for the end of the filibuster and the immediate codification of Roe into law, apparently planning to undercut the decision before it was announced.
Republicans called on the justices not to allow public pressures to influence their decision — and on the clerks to condemn the unprecedented breach.
“If this report is true, this is nothing short of a massive victory for life and will save the lives of millions of innocent babies. But while I continue to wait for the Supreme Court’s ultimate opinion, I am appalled by the shocking breach of trust posed by this leak,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted. “This is a blatant attempt to intimidate the Court through public pressure rather than reasoned argument. I hope my fellow former clerks and the entire legal community will join me in denouncing this egregious breach of trust.”
Hawley on SCOTUS leak: The left continues its assault on the Supreme Court with an unprecedented breach of confidentiality, clearly meant to intimidate. The Justices mustn’t give in to this attempt to corrupt the process. Stay strong
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 3, 2022