WASHINGTON — Reaction by Texas elected officials to the Supreme Court’s bombshell decision that says presidents have broad immunity for official acts is falling along party lines. Republicans hail the decision as a victory for former President Donald Trump and other presidents. Meanwhile, Democrats warn it may give him cover to seek retribution if he’s elected again.
One Texas Democrat in Congress thinks back to Jan. 6. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, was on Capitol Hill. He fears Trump will not be held responsible for his actions that day, especially after justices ruled Monday that presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts.
“It makes the results of this election vitally important,” Doggett told Spectrum News. “It means that if we turn over government to Donald Trump, who aspires to be an authoritarian, who admires these foreign dictators, the court system will not be a check on his power. We know that a Republican House and Senate would not be a check on his power. He basically is free to do just about anything he wants to.”
Texas Democrats are concerned about the existential threat to democracy.
In a statement, Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, wrote the “ruling shields any president from meaningful accountability, again casts a dark stain on our history, and worsens the already perilously low faith in our institutions.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, wrote on social media that Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent should serve as a “stark warning about the damage the Supreme Court has done today. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune.”
As Sotomayor and the Democratic-appointed justices said the decision will reshape the presidency, the more conservative justices felt the president needed protection that would ensure “an energetic, independent executive.”
Republicans in the Lone Star State said the Supreme Court got it right.
“We cannot have a president doing their job if they have to second guess and look over their shoulder,” state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said.
Trump’s biggest champions in Congress, such as Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, called it a quote “big win.” On social media, Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, said the “SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity is a victory for Trump, our Constitution, and our Nation. Now the Democrats’ politicized prosecutions should END!”
Appearing on “The Benny Show,” Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, said, “I thank God that President Trump appointed those three conservative judges in 2016 through 2020 during his presidency to ensure this victory.”
The greater questions of what makes up official acts likely will not be determined until after the November election. If Trump beats President Joe Biden, it is expected Trump would direct his attorney general to dismiss the case against him.