July 29, 2024
Biden’s plan includes term limits, reversing broad presidential immunity, and an enforced ethics code for Supreme Court Justices.
President Biden has officially revealed his plan to reform the U.S. Supreme Court, including term limits and a reversal of presidential immunity.
Biden shared his proposal in an op-ed to the Washington Post on July 29. In the piece, he detailed his desire for three substantive changes to “ensure trust” in America’s judicial system and highest court.
The 81-year-old emphasized his longtime role as a Senate’s Judiciary Committee member while noting that today’s court must restore the “public’s confidence” in the Democratic institution.
“I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers,” wrote the president. “What is happening now 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.”
Following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to bestow broad immunity for presidents, Biden seeks to correct this measure in his No One Is Above The Law Amendment. The reform would ensure former presidents do not have immunity for crimes committed while in office.
Secondly, the president hopes to impose term limits on Justices, eliminating lifetime appointments. Biden addressed how a single presidency can “radically [alter]” the Supreme Court for decades. Instead, Biden proposes that a president can appoint a new justice every two years to serve 18-year terms.
As the court stands, its conservative majority has overturned landmark decisions such as Roe v. Wade while imposing new ones such as seemingly unlimited presidential immunity. However, Biden’s suggestion of a constitutional amendment seems like a long shot, with one last ratified in 1992, per the Huffington Post.
Lastly, Biden called for a binding code of conduct to be enforced within the court. He referred to the current voluntary ethics code as “weak” and “self-enforced,” as Justices do not have to disclose gifts or conflicts of interest when deciding on cases. Justice Elena Kagan has also called for a new ethics code for the court, furthering the suggestion that their power has gone unchecked.
However, this plan is unlikely to be passed, given the Republican’s control over the House. Despite this, Biden hopes the promotion of these suggested reforms will push Democrats to the polls. Moreover, Biden will most likely speak about the plan at his address at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, later today.
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