Biden confirms he’s coming out with 'major initiative' to rein in Supreme Court: report

16 July 2024

Following its immensely controversial term, calls to fundamentally reform the Supreme Court are at a fever pitch. Now, President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to roll out a plan he's been working on behind the scenes to make the Court more accountable.

The Washington Post obtained the transcript of a call Biden recently had with the Congressional Progressive Caucus in which he called on them to back his Court reform plan, which he hinted would soon be made public. That call, which was on Zoom, was light on details. However, it's expected that Biden's plan could include a combination of Supreme Court reform bills currently in Congress.

"I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out — I don’t want to prematurely announce it — but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court … I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help," Biden said.

According to the Post, Biden is reportedly looking into legally binding ethics rules for Supreme Court justices following the recent news that Justice Clarence Thomas has received more than $4 million in gifts (most of which went unreported on mandatory ethics disclosure forms) over a 20-year period. Some of those gifts came from people who had business before the Court, and where Thomas did not recuse himself. Biden may also be proposing term limits for justices, with one popular proposal setting staggered term limits of 18 years for justices.

The president may also push for a Constitutional amendment that would make it clear that presidents and other officials who have sworn oaths to the Constitution don't have absolute broad immunity from criminal prosecution. This would be a direct response. to the Trump v. United States case, in which the six conservative members of the Court ruled that a president can't be tried for a crime if that crime was declared an "official act." That ruling overturned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' upholding of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's ruling that presidents are not above the law.

"This decision today has continued the court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation," Biden said in comments condemning the decision.

While the details of Biden's proposals to rein in the Court are not yet public, they'll almost certainly require passage by both chambers of Congress. For any Court reform plan to become law, Democrats will likely have to keep the White House and the U.S. Senate, and flip control of the House of Representatives.

The stakes for the Court are arguably the highest this election than any other in recent memory. Should Trump and Republicans win, it's likely that the Court will only grow more conservative, as Justices Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas are all in their 70s. and Chief Justice John Roberts will be 70 in January.

Additionally, Trump would be in a position to appoint hundreds more federal judges at the district and circuit level, all of whom will also serve lifelong terms on the bench. Trump has said previously that he likes younger judges in their 30s and 40s, who can influence the judiciary for decades.

Click here to read the Post's report in its entirety (subscription required).

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