{"id":2651994,"date":"2026-08-30T14:19:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T18:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jim-clyburn-backs-13-justice-supreme-court-rues-defending-clarence-thomas\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T14:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T18:20:52","slug":"jim-clyburn-backs-13-justice-supreme-court-rues-defending-clarence-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jim-clyburn-backs-13-justice-supreme-court-rues-defending-clarence-thomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Clyburn backs 13-justice Supreme Court, rues defending Clarence Thomas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjim-clyburn-backs-13-justice-supreme-court-rues-defending-clarence-thomas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2651994&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Jim Clyburn, a Democratic representative from South Carolina, supports expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices, advocating this move to counterbalance conservative influence and enhance adherence to constitutional principles. during an appearance on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press, he expressed regret over his earlier support for Clarence Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearing, citing disappointment in Thomas\u2019s decisions that have diverged from expectations based on his background. Clyburn emphasized the need for important Congressional action, including court expansion, describing the current Supreme Court as reversing course and moving away from foundational values. His stance aligns with growing support within the Democratic Party\u2019s left wing, which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >favors court expansion<\/a> as a means to offset conservative dominance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jim-clyburn\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"2026\">Jim Clyburn<\/a> (D-SC) voiced his support for expanding the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> to 13 justices and lamented his defense of Clarence Thomas during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-barr-says-scotus-may-need-special-counsel-to-out-leaker-floats-criminal-charges\/\" title=\"Bill Barr Says SCOTUS May Need Special Counsel To Out Leaker, Floats Criminal Charges\">conservative justice\u2019<\/a>s confirmation in 1991.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an appearance on NBC News\u2019s <em>Meet the Press<\/em>, the Democratic kingmaker leaned into some of the more controversial proposals of the Democratic Party\u2019s left flank, including the unprecedented move of adding Supreme Court justices to dilute the influence of conservatives. When asked about former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"748\">Kamala Harris\u2019s<\/a> proposal to raise the number of justices to 13, he agreed.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4705558\/jim-clyburn-13-justices-expand-supreme-court\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jim Clyburn backs 13-justice Supreme Court, rues defending Clarence Thomas<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/4705550\/ro-khanna-aoc-2028-president-white-house-bid\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ro Khanna says AOC running in 2028 would have \u2018no bearing\u2019 on his decision<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4703962\/house-will-vote-denounce-socialism-dsa\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>House will vote to denounce socialism<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress, and we ought to expand. And 13 is a pretty good number. A baker\u2019s dozen would be a good number to have on the court, and I would hope we would get people on the court who will follow the constitutional underpinnings of this great nation of ours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have now a Supreme Court that has decided to reverse course and take this country back,\u201d Clyburn added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier in the interview, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/south-carolina\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"524\">South Carolina<\/a> Democrat voiced his regret for having supported Thomas during the justice\u2019s contentious confirmation hearing in 1991.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know, I have made mistakes in my life, and that\u2019s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake. The fact of the matter is, I had faith and confidence in the fact that his background and experiences would instruct him in his professionalism, especially sitting on the bench,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4661824\/black-democrats-bulwark-socialist-takeover\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4661824\">BLACK DEMOCRATS EMERGE AS BULWARK AGAINST SOCIALIST TAKEOVER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought that he would follow those court decisions that upheld the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act. I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences,\u201d Clyburn added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Expanding the Supreme Court, long too great a taboo, has gotten increased support in recent years from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"288\">Democratic Party\u2019s<\/a> left wing as it looks to offset the conservative hold on the court. Leading figures in the party have increasingly entertained these demands as the progressive wing of the party has grown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clyburn backs 13-justice court, regrets defending Thomas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2651995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/clyburn-us-not-ready-female-president.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34632,33356,4901,32275],"class_list":["post-2651994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-clarence-thomas","tag-jim-clyburn","tag-justice","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/clyburn-us-not-ready-female-president.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651994"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651998,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651994\/revisions\/2651998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2651995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}