In what marks a major shift for President Biden - the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee who had long resisted calls to reform the high court - is calling for Congress to back his proposals for two significant changes to the U.S. Supreme Court and a change to the U.S. Constitution.
His plan includes establishing term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He’s also pressing lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity.
The announcement marks a remarkable evolution for Biden, who as a candidate had been wary of calls to reform the high court.
Last week, he announced during an Oval Office speech that he would pursue Supreme Court reform during his final months in office, calling it “critical to our democracy.”
As Melanie Sun reports at The Epoch Times, the president (well, his team of millennial minions) outlined his reasoning for pursuing changes that have been long-sought by progressive camps in U.S. politics in an op-ed published this morning.
“This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one,” the president wrote.
According to a White House official, President Biden will call for Congress to back term limits for Supreme Court justices and a code of ethics enforceable by the legislative branch.
He also will propose an amendment to limit the extent of presidential immunity afforded by the Constitution, proposing that former presidents be granted no immunity for crimes committed in office.
This effort is clearly in direct response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 1st granting broad immunity to former President Donald Trump with regards to the various criminal prosecutions against him related to actions he took while in office.
Citing his 36 years as a U.S. senator and former chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, President Biden said that while he has “great respect for our institutions and separation of powers,” what is happening now in the United States is “not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms.”
“We now stand in a breach,” the president wrote.
In 2020, then-candidate Mr. Biden promised to create a commission to study potential changes to the Supreme Court amid progressive voices calling for expanding the Supreme Court.
The commission published a 294-page report to the president in December 2021. President Biden has not acted on that report until now.
The president is scheduled to speak today on his plan from the LBJ Presidential Library commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
The first three justices who would potentially be affected by term limits are on the right.
Justice Clarence Thomas has been on the court for nearly 33 years.
Chief Justice John Roberts has served for 19 years,
and Justice Samuel Alito has served for 18.
Critics of the code of conduct have expressed concern that oversight of justices by Congress would politicize the court.
For President Biden to be successful, his proposals would require 60 votes for passages in the Senate. His proposed constitutional amendment faces additional hurdles, including two-thirds support in both chambers of Congress, or by a convention of two-thirds of the states, and then approval by three-fourths of state legislatures.
Kamala Harris has issued a statement in support of the President's proposals
Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on Supreme Court Reforms
In the course of our Nation's history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law. President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court. Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court as its fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.
That is why President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reforms - from imposing term limits for Justices' active service, to requiring Justices to comply with binding ethics rules just like every other federal judge. And finally, in our democracy, no one should be above the law. So we must also ensure that no former President has immunity for crimes committed while in the White House.
These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law.
Former President Donald Trump previously said of such efforts in the legislative branch:
“The Democrats are attempting to interfere in the Presidential Election, and destroy our Justice System, by attacking their Political Opponent, ME, and our Honorable Supreme Court,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We have to fight for our Fair and Independent Courts, and protect our Country.”
The former president also warned that any removal of presidential immunity for official acts of former presidents would risk politicizing prosecutions and undermine the office of the president.
