Washington, July 30
US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to reform the Supreme Court, saying that he looked forward to working with Congress to prevent the abuse of presidential power and “restore faith” in the nation’s highest court. “President Biden believes that no one — neither the President nor the Supreme Court — is above the law,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
In the face of this “crisis of confidence” in America’s democratic institutions, Biden was calling for three reforms to “restore trust and accountability”: No immunity for crimes a former president committed in office; Term limits for Supreme Court justices; Binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the fact sheet.
Firstly, Biden called for a constitutional amendment that makes clear no president is above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. This came in response to the court’s July 1 ruling, which determined that presidents cannot be prosecuted for “official acts” performed while in office, a decision related to a case involving former President Donald Trump, who was indicted by a federal grand jury for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Secondly, Biden supported a system in which the president would appoint a Justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. Currently, Supreme Court Justices serve lifetime appointments on the court.
During his tenure, Trump nominated three conservative justices, shifting the balance of the Supreme Court from a 5-4 to a 6-3 conservative majority, thereby strengthening the conservative advantage. Biden has become more vocal in his criticism of the Supreme Court and its decisions.
“In recent years, the Supreme Court has overturned long-established legal precedents protecting fundamental rights. This Court has gutted civil rights protections, taken away a woman’s right to choose, and now granted Presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office,” the White House said.
Thirdly, Biden believed that Congress should pass binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.
“Recent ethics scandals involving some Justices have caused the public to question the fairness and independence that are essential for the Court to faithfully carry out its mission to deliver justice for all Americans,” according to the fact sheet.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have faced scrutiny for their personal conduct. Thomas did not disclose receiving extravagant travel from wealthy Republican donors. Alito’s wife displayed flags outside their homes associated with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“President Biden and Vice President (Kamala) Harris look forward to working with Congress and empowering the American people to prevent the abuse of Presidential power, restore faith in the Supreme Court, and strengthen the guardrails of democracy,” the White House said. In a statement released Monday, Harris, who has become the Democrats’ likely White House nominee, said that “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.”
Implementing term limits and an ethics code for the Supreme Court would likely necessitate new legislation, which means the currently divided Congress is not anticipated to address this issue before the yearend. The House is controlled by Republicans, while Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate.
Furthermore, even if Democrats gain control of both chambers following the election in November, they are unlikely to achieve the 60 Senate seats required to overcome a filibuster. A constitutional amendment would face even greater challenges.
