Biden Expected To Announce Supreme Court Proposal Changes

In the coming weeks, President Joe Biden is expected to propose term limits for the U.S. Supreme Court justices and an enforceable ethics code, addressing growing concerns about the justice’ accountability.

Biden is also contemplating a call for a constitutional amendment to remove the broad immunity for presidents established by the court this term, following former President Donald Trump‘s claim of immunity for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

These proposals would represent a shift for Biden, the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted high court reforms.

However, since taking office, Biden has increasingly voiced concerns that the court is straying away from mainstream constitutional interpretation. 

In a Tuesday interview with BET, Biden predicted “there are probably going to be two more appointments” over the coming four years as justices retire. He also blamed Trump for nominating three conservative justices who contributed to overturning Roe v. Wade.

“Just imagine if he has two more appointments,” Biden warned in the interview.

During a Saturday call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Biden mentioned plans to unveil some form of Supreme Cout reform, according to a source familiar with the discussion.

“I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court…I don’t want to prematurely announce it, but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court and what we do and – I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” said Biden, according to the call’s transcript.

While Biden has often emphasized the need for more Democrats in Congress and a Democrat president to counter the conservative-leaning court, these proposals would represent a much more significant shift.

Such proposals arise from increasing Democratic outrage over Supreme Court rulings that have overturned longstanding decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers.

Questions about the court’s ethics have also surfaced following reports of the justice’s conduct, including Justice Clarence Thomas accepting luxury trips from a Republican megadonor.

Although the court adopted its first ethics code in November, it imposed no significant new requirements and left compliance entirely to each justice.

For years, Republicans have aimed to reshape the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court.

As majority leader in 2016, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) refused to even meet with President Barack Obama‘s Supreme Court nominee, then-federal judge Attorney General Merrick Garland, causing the nomination to stall until Trump took office.

Establishment GOP operatives supported Trump for his promise to appoint as many federal judges as possible, which he fulfilled, appointing three Supreme Court justices and 54 appellate judges, thereby reshaping the courts for a generation.

Democrats are now recognizing the power of judges as a political tool, which Biden has prioritized by appointing a record number of judges during his first term, an achievement he frequently highlights in his reelection campaign.

However, any changes to the Supreme Court would require congressional approval, which is unlikely in a divided Congress.

Nonetheless, Trump’s frequent boasting about appointing the three justices who formed the current conservative majority could make Biden’s proposal for changes more appealing to his voters.