{"id":161898,"date":"2026-08-31T12:51:05","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T20:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/31\/jim-clyburn-vouched-for-clarence-thomas-in-1991-now-he-wants-to-add-four-justices-to-compensate\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T12:51:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T20:51:05","slug":"jim-clyburn-vouched-for-clarence-thomas-in-1991-now-he-wants-to-add-four-justices-to-compensate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/31\/jim-clyburn-vouched-for-clarence-thomas-in-1991-now-he-wants-to-add-four-justices-to-compensate\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Clyburn Vouched For Clarence Thomas In 1991, Now He Wants To Add Four Justices To Compensate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rep. James Clyburn went on \u201cMeet the Press<\/a>\u201d this weekend and did the thing politicians almost never do: he admitted he was wrong. Specifically, wrong about Clarence Thomas.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a heavier admission for Clyburn than for most, because in 1991 he wasn\u2019t a bystander to the Thomas confirmation. He was a character witness. Here\u2019s what he told a panel of senators back then:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pleasure for me to be here today to present testimony in favor of my good friend Clarence Thomas. I have known Clarence for 10 years, and I consider him to be a personal and professional friend, in spite of the fact that he shares a conservative Republican philosophy.<\/p>\n

Thirty-plus years later, the reviews are in. Asked on Sunday whether he stood by that endorsement, Clyburn didn\u2019t hedge, \u201cI have made mistakes in my life, and that\u2019s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake.\u201d He added that he \u201chad no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018rebellion\u2019 has been ongoing for decades. Thomas has eroded civil rights protections<\/a>, from voting rights to affirmative action. His Dobbs<\/em> concurrence openly invited the Court to reconsider its rulings<\/a> on contraception, same-sex intimacy, and marriage equality. He and Neil Gorsuch keep going to the mat to gut press freedom<\/a> by overturning New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em>. He has even, in one memorable instance, urged the Court to overturn a decision written by\u2026 Clarence Thomas<\/a>. So the \u2018rebel against his own everything\u2019 framing is, if anything, underselling it.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Clyburn\u2019s proposed remedy. His answer to the Court he helped stock is to add to it. Asked whether he backed expanding the bench from nine justices<\/a> to 13, Clyburn said, \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress, and we ought to expand it,\u201d he said. \u201cThirteen is a pretty good number; a baker\u2019s dozen will be a good number to have on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clyburn is not out on a limb here \u2014 the proposal to move to 13 was Kamala Harris\u2019s. Court expansion is something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries now describes as \u201cdramatic Supreme Court reform\u201d<\/a> that needs to be considered. And a majority of Americans<\/a> have said they\u2019re on board with adding seats. The catch, beyond the small matter of needing the House, the Senate, and the White House all at once, is that the same logic runs in both directions. Whatever number Democrats pick, the next Republican trifecta gets to pick a bigger one, which is how you end up modeling a 61-justice Court by 2123<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tidy symmetry to all of it, though. The congressman who once vouched for Thomas now wants to add four colleagues to outvote him. As far as apologies go, \u201cI was wrong, and I\u2019d like to dilute my mistake by 44 percent\u201d has a certain honesty to it.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Clarence Thomas Celebrates 30 Years Of Eroding Basic Constitutional Rights<\/a>
Two Justices Just Signaled \u2014 Again \u2014 That They Want To Destroy Press Freedom<\/a>
Clarence Thomas Urges Overturning SCOTUS Decision Written By Clarence Thomas<\/a>
Hakeem Jeffries Is Reading The Room, Wants \u2018Dramatic\u2019 Supreme Court Reform<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Jim Clyburn Vouched For Clarence Thomas In 1991, Now He Wants To Add Four Justices To Compensate<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCongressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) (Photo by Bill Pugliano\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rep. James Clyburn went on \u201cMeet the Press<\/a>\u201d this weekend and did the thing politicians almost never do: he admitted he was wrong. Specifically, wrong about Clarence Thomas.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a heavier admission for Clyburn than for most, because in 1991 he wasn\u2019t a bystander to the Thomas confirmation. He was a character witness. Here\u2019s what he told a panel of senators back then:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pleasure for me to be here today to present testimony in favor of my good friend Clarence Thomas. I have known Clarence for 10 years, and I consider him to be a personal and professional friend, in spite of the fact that he shares a conservative Republican philosophy.<\/p>\n

Thirty-plus years later, the reviews are in. Asked on Sunday whether he stood by that endorsement, Clyburn didn\u2019t hedge, \u201cI have made mistakes in my life, and that\u2019s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake.\u201d He added that he \u201chad no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018rebellion\u2019 has been ongoing for decades. Thomas has eroded civil rights protections<\/a>, from voting rights to affirmative action. His Dobbs<\/em> concurrence openly invited the Court to reconsider its rulings<\/a> on contraception, same-sex intimacy, and marriage equality. He and Neil Gorsuch keep going to the mat to gut press freedom<\/a> by overturning New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em>. He has even, in one memorable instance, urged the Court to overturn a decision written by\u2026 Clarence Thomas<\/a>. So the \u2018rebel against his own everything\u2019 framing is, if anything, underselling it.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to Clyburn\u2019s proposed remedy. His answer to the Court he helped stock is to add to it. Asked whether he backed expanding the bench from nine justices<\/a> to 13, Clyburn said, \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress, and we ought to expand it,\u201d he said. \u201cThirteen is a pretty good number; a baker\u2019s dozen will be a good number to have on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clyburn is not out on a limb here \u2014 the proposal to move to 13 was Kamala Harris\u2019s. Court expansion is something House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries now describes as \u201cdramatic Supreme Court reform\u201d<\/a> that needs to be considered. And a majority of Americans<\/a> have said they\u2019re on board with adding seats. The catch, beyond the small matter of needing the House, the Senate, and the White House all at once, is that the same logic runs in both directions. Whatever number Democrats pick, the next Republican trifecta gets to pick a bigger one, which is how you end up modeling a 61-justice Court by 2123<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tidy symmetry to all of it, though. The congressman who once vouched for Thomas now wants to add four colleagues to outvote him. As far as apologies go, \u201cI was wrong, and I\u2019d like to dilute my mistake by 44 percent\u201d has a certain honesty to it.<\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Clarence Thomas Celebrates 30 Years Of Eroding Basic Constitutional Rights<\/a>
Two Justices Just Signaled \u2014 Again \u2014 That They Want To Destroy Press Freedom<\/a>
Clarence Thomas Urges Overturning SCOTUS Decision Written By Clarence Thomas<\/a>
Hakeem Jeffries Is Reading The Room, Wants \u2018Dramatic\u2019 Supreme Court Reform<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. James Clyburn went on \u201cMeet the Press\u201d this weekend and did the thing politicians almost never do: he admitted he was wrong. Specifically, wrong about Clarence Thomas. That\u2019s a heavier admission for Clyburn than for most, because in 1991 he wasn\u2019t a bystander to the Thomas confirmation. He was a character witness. Here\u2019s what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-AyqkKp.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}