politics
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to impose term limits on U.S. Supreme Court justices and a legally enforceable ethics code amid growing concerns that justices won’t be held accountable, three people briefed on the plans say.
It could be a significant shift for Biden, the previous chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has long resisted calls for Supreme Court reform, but since taking office he has change into increasingly vocal about his belief that the court is abandoning mainstream constitutional interpretation. The details were first reported by The Washington Post.
Any changes would require congressional approval, which could be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump boasting about appointing the three Supreme Court justices who’re currently a part of the conservative majority, Biden's call for sweeping changes could help energize his voters.
Biden can be considering in search of a constitutional amendment that may abolish the broad presidential immunity the court granted during his last term after Donald Trump claimed he was immune from prosecution for his actions on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters violently entered the U.S. Capitol.
The people weren’t authorized to comment publicly on proposals which have not yet been finalized and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The consideration of such proposals is available in response to growing outrage amongst Democrats over Supreme Court rulings that overturned many years of landmark decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers. There are also growing doubts concerning the court's ethics following revelations about a number of the justices, including that Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips from a significant Republican donor.
The Supreme Court didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the proposal.
Biden raised the chance in a conference call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus over the weekend, the people said. Biden often tells voters they need more Democrats in Congress and a Democrat within the White House to counter the influence of the conservative-leaning court, but these proposals would go much further.
“And by the way, I'm going to need your help at the Supreme Court because I'm going to come out soon. I don't want to be too hasty in announcing it, but I'm going to be introducing a major initiative soon to constrain the Court and what we do. I've been working with constitutional lawyers for the last three months and I need help,” he said, in response to a transcript of the decision.
About two-thirds of Americans support term limits or a compulsory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, in response to a 2022 poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
According to a June poll on the court, trust stays low, with 4 in 10 U.S. adults saying they’ve little confidence within the individuals who lead the Supreme Court.
The poll found that seven in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices are more influenced by ideological aspects. However, only three in 10 American adults think the justices are more capable of exercise independent oversight over the opposite branches of presidency through their fairness and impartiality.
In November, the court adopted its first code of ethics. The policy, which was approved by all nine justices, doesn’t appear to impose any significant recent requirements and leaves compliance entirely to individual judges.
Republicans have focused on reshaping the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court for years. When Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was majority leader, he even refused to satisfy with Obama's Supreme Court nominee in 2016 – now Attorney General Merrick Garland, then a federal judge. The nomination only stalled when Republican President Trump took office.
Established Republicans supported Trump because he had promised to appoint as many judges as possible. Their bet paid off. Trump ended up nominating three Supreme Court judges and 54 federal appeals court judges, changing the judiciary for a generation.
Democrats are finally realizing the ability of judges as an electoral tool, and Biden has made judicial nominations a priority. In his first term, he appointed a record variety of judges for a president, including a number of the most diverse nominees ever to the judiciary. Biden often talks about these successes on the campaign trail, but Democrats have pushed him to go even further.
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