AOC criticizes Supreme Court, leaves Trump impeachment on the table after Democratic victories

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., suggested that impeaching President Donald Trump remains an option after Democrats’ midterm victories, also taking aim at the U.S. Supreme Court, which she accused of having “legalized” President Donald Trump’s “criminality.”

Speaking with CNN’s Manu Raju Nov. 10, Ocasio-Cortez predicted investigations and subpoenas when Democrats take control of the House in January.

“There are so many criminals in this administration, it’s hard to figure out who should be, you know, the order of operations,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “There are going to be many, many, many investigations. I imagine many subpoenas, and we have to follow wherever the evidence takes us.”

Asked whether Democrats would seek to impeach Trump, she said they should “leave all options on the table” and pointed to what she characterized as the Supreme Court’s role in Trump’s agenda.

“Absolutely. I mean, of course, this Supreme Court as well has also kind of legalized a lot of his criminality, and they’re pointing at impeachment,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding, “We’ll see. We’ll approach it, but I think all options are on the table.” 

Ocasio-Cortez has previously sought to impeach members of the court. In July 2024, she introduced articles of impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, alleging failures to disclose gifts and to recuse themselves from cases involving conflicts of interest.

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Raju’s questions followed the House’s Nov. 10 vote to refer an impeachment resolution against War Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, blocking an immediate floor vote on impeachment. The referral passed 211-204, largely along party lines.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader-elect Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, predicted on Fox News’ “Hannity” Nov. 11 that the incoming Democratic majority would pursue investigations across congressional committees and another impeachment of Trump.

“There’ll be a third impeachment. They can’t help themselves,” Jordan said, referring to the House’s two attempted impeachments of Trump during his first term, both of which ended in Senate acquittals. “They're going to go after everyone in the Cabinet — we've already seen that with Secretary of War Hegseth. They're going to go after people in the private sector, which I think is ridiculous.”

Democrats have already identified officials they intend to investigate, including members of the Trump family and immigration officials, as Zeale News previously reported. 

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Alito defends judicial independence

On Nov. 12, Alito delivered a pointed defense of judicial independence at the Federalist Society’s annual Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner. Speaking to a crowd of more than 1,000, he warned that Congress possesses significant power over the high court, including the ability to defund it. 

“Congress can turn off the lights at the Supreme Court and stop everything from happening if they want to defund their activities. And there are many, many, many other things that they can do, or at least try to do,” Alito said, according to The Hill.

He added that it is “important to preserve” the judiciary’s independence, saying, “If that is eliminated, then the Constitution as adopted in 1789 will no longer be the same.”

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