Jim Clyburn regrets supporting Clarence Thomas' SCOTUS appointment, calling it a 'mistake'

Rep. James Clyburn Says He Regrets Supporting Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative James Clyburn, the senior Democrat from South Carolina, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that he now views his support of Clarence Thomas during the Justice’s 1991 confirmation hearing as a mistake. The statement came after a question from host Kristen Welker about Clyburn’s stance amid the Democratic Party’s growing interest in court‑packing and term limits for justices.

Clyburn, who had previously testified in favor of Thomas, said, “Absolutely not. I have made mistakes in my life, and that’s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake.” He added that he had “faith and confidence in the fact that his background and experiences would instruct him in his professionalism, especially sitting on the bench.” Clyburn recalled that the two had worked together when Thomas was chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and when Clyburn ran a state agency in South Carolina.

During the 1991 hearing, Clyburn described Thomas as a “personal and professional friend, in spite of the fact that he shares a conservative Republican philosophy.” He had hoped that Thomas would uphold the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. “I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences,” he said. “He was raised by his grandfather, and he has shown very little sensitivity to the environment his grandfather grew up in Pin Point, Georgia.”

In the same interview, Clyburn referred to Thomas as a “very angry rightist.” He added that he had “hoped that Clarence Thomas would follow the modern underpinnings of that Constitution of ours, but he has not done so.” Clyburn also noted Thomas’s shift from an “angry leftist” to a “very angry rightist” during the years since his appointment.

The discussion came in the context of the Justice’s recent public remarks about blackness and politics. In a rare interview with Senator Ted Cruz, Thomas rejected the idea that being Black obliges a jurist to hold Democratic beliefs. “There are only two things I have to do: stay Black and die,” Thomas said. “That was a retort to people who have these mandates for us because of our skin color.”

Cruz later responded to Clyburn’s remarks on the social‑media platform X, writing: “I understand Jim Clyburn has a political base to answer to. But his explanation is actually a pretty good test of why Clarence Thomas is such a great Justice. Apparently, Thomas’s great ‘mistake’ was refusing to treat precedent as more sacred than the Constitution. When the Court got it wrong, he said so. When others stopped short, he went further.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court for comment on the exchange, but no response has yet been received.

The interview highlights the evolving dynamics within the Democratic Party. While some members push for court‑packing and term limits to counterbalance the Court’s perceived conservatism, others, like Clyburn, are reassessing their past endorsements of justices such as Thomas. Clyburn’s admission underscores the continuing debate over the political leanings of the Supreme Court and the long‑term implications of its composition.