Biden seriously considering proposals on Supreme Court term limits, ethics code, AP sources say
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to impose term limits on U.S. Supreme Court justices and create a legally enforceable ethics code amid growing concerns that the justices are not being held accountable, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.
It would be a big change for Bidenthe former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to reform the high court, though he has become increasingly vocal since taking office about his belief that the court is moving away from mainstream constitutional interpretation, the details were first reported by The Washington Post.
Any changes would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump boasting of appointing the three Supreme Court justices who now make up the conservative majority, Biden’s call for big changes could motivate voters.
Biden is also considering seeking a constitutional amendment that would repeal the broad immunity for presidents that the court granted in his most recent term, after Donald Trump claimed he was immune from prosecution. for his actions on January 6, 2021when a mob of his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol.
The people were not authorized to speak publicly about proposals that had not yet been finalized. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The consideration of such proposals comes in response to growing outrage among Democrats over Supreme Court rulings that important decisions overturned on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers that had stood for decades. There are also increasing questions about the ethics of the court after revelations about some of the judges, including the fact that Clarence Thomas had accepted luxury travel from a GOP megadonor.
Biden predicted in an interview with BET on Tuesday that “there will probably be two more appointments” in the next four years as justices retire and blamed Trump for nominating three conservative justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. “Imagine what that means if he gets two more appointments,” he said.
The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposal.
Biden, speaking on a weekend call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, raised the possibility, the people said. Biden often tells voters they need more Democrats in Congress and a Democrat in the White House to counter the impact of the conservative court, but these proposals would go much further.
“And by the way, I need your help with the Supreme Court because I’m going to come out. I don’t want to announce it prematurely, but I’m going to be coming out with a major initiative soon to limit the court and what we do and — I’ve been working with constitutional lawyers for the last three months and I need some help,” he said, according to a transcript of the call.
About 2 in 3 Americans say they support term limits or a mandatory retirement age for High Council judges, according to a 2022 poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
According to a June survey of the Supreme Court, confidence in the judiciary remains low: 4 in 10 American adults say they have little confidence in the people who lead the Supreme Court.
The survey found that 7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices are more likely to be influenced by ideology, with only 3 in 10 American adults thinking justices are more likely to provide independent oversight of other branches of government by being fair and impartial.
In November the court adopted its first code of ethics. Policywhich all nine justices agreed to, does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely up to the justices themselves.
Republicans have focused for years on reforming the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court. When Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was majority leader, he refused to even meet with Obama’s pick for the high court in 2016 — current Attorney General Merrick Garland, then a federal judge. The nomination languished until a Republican president, Trump, took over.
GOP establishment operatives backed Trump because of his promise to appoint as many judges as possible. Their gamble paid off. Trump ended up with three Supreme Court nominees and 54 federal appeals court judges, reshaping the courts for a generation.
Democrats are finally beginning to grasp the power of judges as a voting tool, and Biden has made judicial nominations a priority, appointing a record number of judges for a president at this point in his first term, including some of the most diverse judiciary picks yet. Biden touted those accomplishments often during his reelection campaign, but Democrats have pushed him to go further.
Trump criticized Biden’s potential move in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying: “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. We must fight for our fair and independent courts and protect our country.”