US President Joe Biden on Monday announced plans to immediately reform the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, a bold but far-reaching move as he seeks to make a mark on his final six months in power.
The 81-year-old Democrat is seeking a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent decision supporting Donald Trump’s presidential immunity claims, according to the White House.
Democrats are also seeking to impose term limits on Supreme Court justices, who currently serve for life, after delivering shocking decisions such as one that repeals abortion rights nationwide.
Biden, who will unveil the plans in a speech in Austin, Texas, on Monday, will also seek an enforceable code of conduct after a series of scandals.
He confirmed during his Oval Office address last week that he would seek reforms outlining his priorities after deciding to opt out of the 2024 election, though those plans have virtually no chance of passing in the deeply divided Congress.
“This nation was founded on a simple but profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. No one,” Biden said in an article published Monday.
“What’s happening now is not normal, and it undermines public confidence in the Court’s decisions, including those affecting personal liberties. We are now in a state of breach.”
Though their chances are slim, the proposed reforms reflect Biden’s growing frustration with a court filled with Trump-appointed judges, and come at a time when opinion polls show public confidence in the institution is waning.
The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for November’s election, “look forward to working with Congress” on both plans.
A fact sheet says this would “reduce the potential for any one president to exert undue influence over future generations.”
But the White House said Biden will now seek 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, with new justices appointed every two years.
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A fact sheet says this will “reduce the potential for any one president to exert undue influence over future generations.”
He also would seek a “binding, enforceable” code of conduct similar to that which applies to federal judges.
The top court has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed while Trump was president, and they have dealt Biden several setbacks in recent years.
The court stunned the world in 2022 when it overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that had formed the basis of the federal right to abortion. At least 20 states have now enacted full or partial abortion bans.
The court this year significantly rolled back the powers of federal agencies, also ruling partially in favor of Republican candidate Trump’s immunity claims in early July.
Trump is now using that ruling to challenge his recent criminal conviction in the porn star-hush money case, as well as a series of other convictions.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has been rocked by ethics scandals involving staunchly conservative justices.
Justice Clarence Thomas recently acknowledged that two luxury vacations he took in 2019 were paid for by a billionaire Republican political donor.
Thomas, the longest-serving justice on the court, has also ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election, when his wife participated in the campaign to keep Trump in power despite his electoral defeat.
And Justice Samuel Alito has rejected calls to recuse himself from some Trump-related cases after flags associated with the former president’s false election fraud claims were found flying outside his home and vacation spot.
However, legal expert Steven Schwinn warned that Biden has “virtually zero” chance of getting the plan passed.
But Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told AFP that Biden was likely trying to “raise public consciousness” and “present the Supreme Court as an election issue.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
