The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning a Thursday vote on a bill that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics, but the legislation is expected to fall short of becoming law amid strong Republican opposition.
The panel vote comes after months of scrutiny on the court following reports that justices didn’t report gifts and property sales, and, in one case, whose staff pushed for sales of a justice’s book. Democrats say the measure is needed to establish a basic code of ethics for the court amid a debate about the status of an institution where six Republican appointees have a firm majority.
In a floor speech last week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., the bill sponsor, said the justices’ behavior has tanked their public perception and called Thursday’s planned vote an important step in the process of restoring it.
