By Ray Cardello for May 16, 2026, Season 35 / Post 25

It is laughable to see any member of Congress telling a reporter that there should be a Code of Ethics established for Supreme Court justices. When those comments come from the likes of Representative Jayapal (D-WA), you have to think we have reached the limits of hypocrisy, especially since Congress members often oppose their own ethics reforms, which erodes public trust even further.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has been a leading voice in pushing for binding ethics rules and term limits for the Supreme Court justices as part of a broader reform effort to restore public trust.

Legislative Action

Jayapal co-introduced the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act with Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2022 and again in 2023. The bill calls for:

• An enforceable code of conduct for the Supreme Court, replacing the current weak ethics code.
• Bans on federal judges owning individual stocks or securities.
• Restrictions on gifts and privately funded travel.
• Greater transparency in recusal decisions, requiring written responses to recusal requests.
• Public access to proceedings and public health/safety records Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

Her position aligns with President Biden’s 2024 proposal for:

• 18-year term limits for justices, with regular appointments every two years.
• A binding ethics code to replace the current online ethics statement.

Jayapal has framed the push as a matter of accountability: “A system without basic ethics is a corrupt system” and “no one is above the law, not even a Supreme Court justice.”

Here are some thoughts on what Americans think about Congress on favorability, honesty, and accountability:

According to Gallup’s April 2026 poll, Americans’ approval of Congress has fallen to just 10% — barely above its all-time low of 9%. This ranking puts members of Congress at the bottom of the list of professions considered, aligning them with telemarketers and used-car salesmen. 71% of respondents rated Congress’s honesty and ethical standards as “low” or “very low” — the worst showing of any profession measured. With these dismal results, it is so abundantly clear why these people should be pointing a finger at the Supreme Court and its 9 justices. You cannot make this stuff up.

Any mention of term limits emanating from a member of Congress is remarkable, and I am being kind with the superlatives. Take Maxine Waters as an example. She is 87 years old and has recently claimed that there is a place in Washington for a 100-year-old member. She has served for 35 years and is running for re-election in 2026. She and her many wigs will most likely be around for a few more years. Waters has missed nearly 7% of the votes in her tenure, which is well above the 2% average, and rumors have been flying that Jamie Raskin voted for Waters by proxy at the last minute.

American voters have shown to have a high tolerance for poor performance, as they have elected 97% of incumbents in recent elections. When I think of ethics and accountability, I go no further than to look at the track record of disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who stayed in Congress despite knowingly sleeping with Christine Fang, a Chinese spy. He had no problem being the poster boy for the Democrats over the last decade, pointing fingers at Donald Trump, until he finally had to resign this year over a multitude of ethical violations.

There should be term limits for every member of our government, and everyone should be held to a code of ethics, but please do not let the members of Congress set the rules. I think there is already a line about the inmates running the asylum.

Photo generated by GROK AI.