New Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's promise to independently interpret the law based on what it says is "making the heads of Democrats explode everywhere" because they want the courts to be institutions of social change, Sen. Mike Lee said Tuesday.
"They want them to take debatable matters beyond debate, and that's why this isn't satisfying to them," the Utah Republican said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "They want something much bigger, much grander than what the Constitution actually allows. Judge Barrett sees the eloquent simplicity of the fact that you want judges to interpret the law based on what it says."
Barrett was administered the constitutional oath of office at the White House Monday night and will be administered the judicial oath by Chief Justice John Roberts during a private ceremony Tuesday.
During her remarks Monday, she promised to do her job "without any fear or favor," and to do so independently of both political branches and of her own preferences.
"When she said those things last night, my heart was pounding faster and (she) brought a bigger smile to my face, including especially when she referred to the fact that we're a Republic and accurately described our version of government," said Lee.
Several congressional Democrats are calling for adding seats to the Supreme Court, which was last undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, with the move failing in 1937, said Lee.
"You can't undertake or even threaten an action like that without threatening serious damage to the judicial Independence of the Supreme Court, so I think it's irresponsible," said Lee. "It doesn't sit right with the American people and it shouldn't."
Lee also blasted Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who posted on Twitter his opinion that "Originalism is just a fancy word for discrimination."
"Sen. Markey has essentially said that our Constitution is racist and an effort to understand it, to understand its words at the time that they were written something is racist and bigoted," said Lee. "I can't think of a statement that has a greater tendency to undermine the foundation of our constitutional republic. I hope, expect, and demand Sen. Markey retract his statement. It's irresponsible. He can't defend that."