Late-night host John Oliver has made an audacious proposition to Justice Clarence Thomas, dangling a tempting offer of $1 million annually , alongside a luxurious $2 million tour bus, if the conservative Supreme Court justice chooses to step down from his esteemed position within the next 30 days, as per Independent .
During Sunday’s airing of Last Week Tonight on HBO, Oliver made a proposal that the judge of the Supreme Court had to accept within 30 days or it would expire. The progressive comedian , who was born in Britain, made the offer after months of relentless media coverage revealed that Thomas had concealed the fact that he had been gifted expensive vacation trips and real estate to his mother by political backers. Thomas also neglected to reveal, as required, that he had permitted for a family member’s school expenses to be settled and had obtained financing for the purchase of an expensive motor coach, all after publicly lamenting the need for the wages of Supreme Court judges to be increased.
Concerns over Thomas’s judicial integrity have grown in light of his recent actions, which include his crucial part in a historic judgment that limited federal abortion rights and his participation in discussions on the events that followed the Capitol attack on January 6. Oliver spoke to Thomas after the show and said, “Lot on your plate right now. From stripping away women’s rights to hearing January 6th cases, you definitely shouldn’t be hearing two potentially helping rollback decades of federal regulations. And you deserve a break, you know, away from the meanness of Washington so you can be surrounded by the regular folks whose lives you made demonstrably worse for decades. Now. The good news is, I think we can help you with that because since your favorite mode of travel might be in need of an upgrade, we are excited to offer you this brand new top-of-the-line cray boat marathon motor coach!” as per USA Today .
John Oliver offered Justice Clarence Thomas $1 Million a year and a $2.4 million motor-coach to stepdown from the Supreme Court. I mean it sounds like a mockery, but no more than Thomas already mocks judicial decorum, impartiality & legitimacy. @LastWeekTonight @iamjohnoliver pic.twitter.com/kokDtQ7GYr
— Doug Winfield 🪩 (@d2k) February 19, 2024
The justices of the highest court are appointed for life, and their annual remuneration is $298,500. Thomas and the Supreme Court refrained from publicly commenting on Oliver’s offer right away. If the justice approves the plan, Oliver said that he could have to go on “stand-up tours… for years” in order to have the money to pay for Thomas’s retirement. The most tenured member of the right-wing-dominated Supreme Court, with six justices , is the arch-conservative. Thomas has been there since his confirmation in 1991, when Anita Hill testified that she experienced sexual harassment from him while working as her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Education.
An offer is on the table.. CLARENCE THOMAS RESIGN🔥🔥🔥🔥 * $1M a year *$2M RV🔥🔥🔥🔥 John Oliver said “Clarence Thomas is arguably the most consequential justice on the court right now and he’s never really seemed to like the job.”💥 ‘It’s not worth doing for the grief.’… pic.twitter.com/Y3mhYTP2xj
— Jen 🇺🇸🏴☠️ (@jerrieskid) February 19, 2024
With the clock ticking, Thomas faces a momentous choice that could reverberate throughout the legal and political landscape. Only time will tell whether Justice Thomas will seize the opportunity for a lucrative retirement package or continue to wield his influence from the hallowed chambers of the highest court in the land.