Mitch McConnell defends 'exemplary' Clarence Thomas from the left's 'clumsy bullying'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) went after the left on Wednesday following a smattering of calls for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself in Capitol riot and 2020 election-related cases, Axios reports.
The "new and inappropriate pressure campaign," as McConnell referred to it, arrived after it was revealed that Thomas' wife repeatedly messaged then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to try and overturn the 2020 election. Now, some House progressives —like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — have even gone so far as to raise the possibility of impeachment.
"The left's quest to delegitimize the Supreme Court found its latest outlet," McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. "This time it's a coordinated effort to nullify the presence of Justice Clarence Thomas on the court."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The minority leader said Democrats are "dusting off their party's impeachment addiction," and engaging in "a tired old tactic" to request that justices recuse themselves over "spurious accusations about fake ethical problems or partiality."
It's a "well-worn pattern," McConnell claimed, and has "no basis in Justice Thomas' decades of impeccable service on the court."
"This clumsy bullying from the political branches is really beyond the pale. Justice Thomas is an exemplary jurist who has modeled fidelity to the rule of law for more than 30 years and counting," he said.
McConnell first defended Thomas following initial reports of his wife's texts, The Hill notes.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monuments
Speed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seat
speed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring push
Speed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein files
Speed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymander
Speed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting vote
Speed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts