South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn said he regrets making the case for Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation. He called that support a mistake and said he expected Thomas’s background to influence his work on the bench. Clyburn also said he believed Thomas would respect major civil rights precedents.
The exchange aired on NBC News, which asked Clyburn whether he still stood by that decision. He answered immediately that he did not.
“Absolutely not,” Clyburn said. “I have made mistakes in my life, and that’s one that I made.”
Clyburn said he had faith that Thomas’s background and experiences would influence his professionalism as a justice. The two had worked together before Thomas joined the Supreme Court.
Thomas chaired the Equal Opportunity Commission while Clyburn ran a state agency in South Carolina. Clyburn said they disagreed over how that agency should operate.
Despite those differences, Clyburn said he believed Thomas respected legal precedent. He expected Thomas to uphold Brown v. Board of Education and decisions protecting federal civil rights laws.
Clyburn specifically referenced the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act when explaining those expectations.
“I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences,” Clyburn said.
He then pointed to Thomas’s upbringing by his grandfather in Georgia. Clyburn said Thomas had shown “very little sensitivity” to the environment his grandfather experienced in Pinpoint.
“That was a mistake on my part,” Clyburn said. “And I’ll own up to it.”
James Clyburn Faces Backlash Over Clarence Thomas Remarks
The reaction focused heavily on Clyburn’s expectations for Thomas and the role he assigned to the justice’s background.
“Clyburn isn’t upset Clarence Thomas ‘betrayed’ his background. He’s upset Thomas thinks for himself and doesn’t share his politics,” one user wrote.
Another framed the disagreement around judicial philosophy: “In other words – Clyburn’s support was about identity, not the Constitution.”
Others challenged Clyburn’s emphasis on personal experience. “Background and experiences shouldn’t mean a thing to a principled Justice. It’s all about the Constitution, Jim,” one response stated.
The criticism also turned directly to race. “I guess what you think and do depends on your skin color, then? I was taught differently….” another user wrote.
Clyburn did not tie his renewed criticism of Thomas to any pending Supreme Court case during the interview. He instead framed his past support for Thomas as a personal mistake he now says he owns.
