BIDEN COURT UNVEIL
Plan vs. Supremes
President Biden will unveil a proposal on Monday that would radically overhaul the Supreme Court, according to a report.
The 81-year-old president’s plan will likely call for term limits for justices, an enforceable code of ethics and a constitutional amendment limiting immunity for presidents and officials holding public office, Politico reported on Friday.
Biden is expected to present his plan during his visit to Lyndon Johnson’s presidential library in Austin, Texas, where he is slated to speak on Monday.
The president noted in his Oval Office address to the nation on Wednesday that pushing for an overhaul of the high court was among his priorities for his remaining time in office.
“I’m going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy,” Biden said in his remarks, which centered on explaining his decision to drop out of the presidential race.
The president’s threepronged plan faces long odds. Congressional legislation would likely be needed to enforce a code of ethics and impose term limits on the nine justices, and a divided Congress is unlikely to take up the issue in the six months Biden has left in office.
Biden’s push for a constitutional amendment restricting immunity — which comes in response to the high court affirming on July 1 that presidents, including former President Donald Trump, have absolute immunity for official acts — would require twothirds support from both the House and the Senate, or the approval of threefourths of state legislatures in a convention that was called for by two-thirds of the states.
Countering 6-3
The left-wing of the Democratic Party has called for either an expansion of the court or imposing term limits since Trump, 78, appointed three conservative justices during his first term, expanding the conservative majority to 6-3.
Democrats have also called for ethics reform since revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose trips with his wealthy Republican donor friend Harlan Crow.