Cruz: 'Supreme Court code of conduct measure is a leftist political attack in the guise of an ethics bill'

Keeping in line with his party’s stance, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, slammed a piece of legislation that seeks to implement a code of conduct for U.S. Supreme Court justices.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Supreme Court ethics bill along party lines despite Republican opposition, Axios reported July 20.

“The so-called Supreme Court ‘ethics’ bill is a leftist political attack in the guise of an ethics bill,” Cruz said in a July 20 Twitter post. “Democrats are lashing out at the conservative justices of the Supreme Court because they disagree with recent rulings.”

The bill is the Democrats’ effort to address what they allege are “ethical failures” among the conservative members of the high court, using Justice Clarence Thomas as a reference point, Axios reported. 

"This legislation will be a crucial first step in restoring confidence in the Court after a steady stream of reports of Justices’ ethical failures has been released to the public," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement, according to Axios. 

The measure, formally known as the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, moved to the Senate floor following the 11-10 committee vote, Axios reported

NBC News reported that not only is Justice Clarence Thomas’ purported acceptance of lavish gifts a cause of concern for Democratic lawmakers, but claims of Justice Sonia Sotomayor committing ethics violations as well. Republican senators argued the justices don’t require a code of conduct as they could police themselves.

“The public support for the Supreme Court is at an all-time low,” Durbin said, according to NBC. 

The GOP claimed the bill is a Democratic attempt to de-legitimize the high court’s conservative majority following its decisions to roll back affirmative action as a college admissions tool in June and strike down Roe v. Wade a year ago, according to CBS News.