US Sen. Bob Casey spoke out against two recent US Supreme Court rulings that were handed down by the Court’s conservative members.
Monday’s decision by the US Supreme Court to grant former president Donald Trump “absolute immunity” for official acts that were committed in office was blasted by Democrats across the country.
US Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is running for reelection this fall against Dave McCormick, a former out-of-state hedge fund manager, added to the discourse on Wednesday after hosting a roundtable discussion with seniors in Harrisburg.
“What the Supreme Court basically said is as long as conduct can be categorized as ‘official,’ that it gives free reign to a president to do whatever the hell they want,” Casey told reporters.
“That is contrary to every principle of our constitutional history. It certainly flies in the face of what the Founding Fathers were trying to create here, which was to prevent a monarchy to prevent one person from ruling with impunity.”
The Court issued a 6-3 ruling with all six conservative justices—including three appointed by Trump—voting in favor of the decision.
Last week, the Court issued another 6-3 partisan ruling that limits federal agencies from carrying out their regulatory powers by overturning the Chevron Doctrine, which was established in 1984. The Chevron Doctrine gave federal agencies the ability to apply regulations—such as those that ensure the safety of our food, air, and water—without interruptions from federal courts.
Casey called the decision “madness,” and warned how this would put long standing environmental protections such as the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act at risk.
“That is madness,” Casey said to reporters.
“We’re not going to rely upon experts. We’re not going to rely upon nonpolitical subject matter experts in these agencies. We’re going to rely upon either Supreme Court justices or politicians. That doesn’t make much sense to the American people.”
Casey also acknowledged President Joe Biden’s debate struggles, but told reporters that he still supports Biden and plans on seeing the president when he is campaigning in the Philadelphia area on Sunday.
“I do think that people across the country have a real sense of what’s at stake in this race,” Casey said. “You’re either going to vote for a side that’s going to support tax cuts for millionaires and big corporations like they did in 2017. Or we’re going to have a tax policy that supports working families in the middle class.”
