Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) said he regrets supporting Clarence Thomas after he publicly lobbied for the conservative judge to join the Supreme Court back in 1991, with Clyburn suggesting Thomas has betrayed his Black ancestors with his high court decisions.

Clyburn made the remark after being asked during a Sunday interview on Meet the Press whether he stood by his decision to vote to confirm Thomas.

“Absolutely not. I have made mistakes in my life,” he told moderator Kristen Welker. “And that’s one that I made, and I will own up to that mistake.”

Clyburn continued:

“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. We had worked together when he was chair of the Equal Opportunity Commission and of course I was running the state agency here in South Carolina.

“We had differences over how that agency should run, but I also thought that he believed in precedence of the law. And I felt sure that he would be there upholding those precedents set down in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. I thought he would follow those court decisions that upheld the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act.”

He then said, “I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences. He was raised by his grandfather and he has shown very little sensitivity to the environment his grandfather grew up in Pin Point, Georgia.”

Clyburn’s condemnation came a moment after Welker played a clip of the lawmaker advocating for Thomas to make the Supreme Court in ’91.

“It’s a pleasure for me to be here today to present testimony in favor of my good friend Clarence Thomas,” Clyburn told a panel of senators at the time. “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.”

Clyburn then went on to say he supported expanding the Supreme Court to having a “baker’s dozen” justices. Other Democrats like ex-Vice President Kamala Harris have recently called for adding more justices to the Supreme Court as well.

Watch above.

The post James Clyburn Regrets Confirming Clarence Thomas: I Had No Idea He Would ‘Rebel’ Against ‘His Own Background’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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