Justice Kagan Says Congress Has Authority to Regulate Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan told a crowd Thursday she believes Congress possesses authority to regulate select aspects of the Supreme Court. 

Key Quotes: “Can Congress do various things to regulate the Supreme Court? I think the answer is yes,” Kagan said, indirectly refuting the stance taken by Justice Samuel Alito in an interview last month, where he said, “No provision in the Constitution gives [Congress] the authority to regulate the Supreme Court—period.” Kagan told the crowd that the Justices “have been discussing this issue” and hold a “variety of views” on the matter. Kagan advocated the court create its own ethics code without Congress, but argued Congress does have the constitutional authority to impose a code on the court, stating, “It just can’t be that the court is the only institution that somehow is not subject to any checks and balances from anybody else.”

For Context: In recent months, a string of reports from left-rated outlets have stirred controversy surrounding the Supreme Court by highlighting potential ethical violations involving Supreme Court Justices. 

How the Media Covered It: Left-rated outlets covered Kagan’s statements more frequently. The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) stated the Supreme Court is in the midst of a “fraught moment in its history.” The National Review (Right bias) reported on Kagan’s words as coming shortly after Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats pushed for Alito to recuse himself from future court cases pertaining to imposing ethics codes on the Supreme Court for addressing the matter in the media.