Justice Clarence Thomas, Long Silent, Has Turned Talkative
The Supreme Court’s orderly telephone arguments, prompted by the pandemic, have given the public a revealing look at its longest-serving member.
Justice Clarence Thomas has been an active participant in the arguments for every case this term.Credit.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
May 3, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON Justice Clarence Thomas, who once went a decade without asking a question from the Supreme Court bench, is about to complete a term in which he was an active participant in every single argument.
Justice Thomas’s switch from monkish silence to gregarious engagement is a byproduct of the pandemic, during which the court has heard arguments by telephone. The justices now ask questions one at a time, in order of seniority.
Live Updates: Republicans Push for Biden to Shrink Infrastructure Plans
President Biden will meet this week with Republican senators on his infrastructure ambitions, which the senators want him to scale back and pay for without tax increases. Administration officials see some opportunities for compromise.
RIGHT NOW
Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia is among the Republicans who will meet with President Biden this week.Credit.Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
President Biden will engage Senate Republicans in further discussions this week as both sides seek a bipartisan compromise on infrastructure, but he appears unlikely to scale back his $4 trillion economic ambitions in the talks.