After dramatic delays, the U.S. House of Representatives finally voted on Tuesday afternoon to send the Supreme Court Police Parity Act to President Joe Biden's desk in order to better protect justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill passed 396-27, with all 'no' votes coming from Democrats. The U.S. Senate had passed the bill over a month ago with unanimous consent.
The SCOTUS security bill has passed the House 396-27.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 14, 2022
All nos were Democrats. Here is the list.
The bill will now go to President @JoeBiden for his signature. pic.twitter.com/9wUcjphmas
Those Democrats in question included many of the usual suspects, such as squad members Reps. Jamaal Bowman (NY), Cori Bush (MO), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ayanna Pressley (MA), and Rashida Tlaib (MI). Rep. Maxine Waters (CA), who has made inciteful remarks against Republicans, including those in the Trump administration, and called for unrest while protesting in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota if the Derek Chauvin trial did not go her way, also voted against it.
The other members included Reps. Joyce Beatty (OH), Veronica Escobar (TX), Adriano Espaillat (NY), Jesus Garcia (IL), Sylvia Garcia (TX), Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), Steven Horsford (NV), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Brenda Lawrence (MI), Barbara Lee (CA), Tom Malinowski (NJ), Marie Newman (IL), Bill Pascrell (NJ), Donald Payne (NJ), Ed Perlmutter (CO), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), Albio Sires (NJ), Norma Torres (CA), Nydia Velázquez (NY), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had also previously blocked a vote, even right after there was a murder plot against Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Pelosi dismissively claimed that it was an issue of getting the language from the Senate and put the onus on House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
House Democrats had tried to go with their own bill, which would protect judicial clerks and their staff, thus protecting the person who leaked the draft early last month showing that the Court looked to overturn Roe v. Wade. Since the leak, there has been an uptick in violence and vandalism against pro-life organizations, as even White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has acknowledged. There have also been protesters outside the homes of conservative justices.
That bill, the Supreme Court Families Security Act of 2022, was introduced last month by Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ). Stanton still ultimately voted in favor of the bill that passed.
Reports from Monday night indicated that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who introduced the bill, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made it clear that the Senate would not pass that bill. "The security issue is related to Supreme Court justices, not nameless staff that no one knows," McConnell had said.
McConnell and Cornyn say House version on SCOTUS security won’t pass Senate. House Ds have changed Senate bill to also include security for clerks and staff. “The security issue is related to the Supreme Court justices, not to nameless staff that no one knows," McConnell said
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 13, 2022
The bill heads to President Joe Biden's desk, with his staff indicating he supports such legislation and would sign it into law.
As a result of the bill being passed by the House, "27 Democrats" is trending on Twitter.
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