US President Joe Biden has listed three ‘bold’ reforms in an effort to “restore trust and accountability to the Supreme Court” and America’s democracy, in ‘the face of increasing threats to the country’s democratic institutions’.
The first of the three reforms aimed at removing immunity for former Presidents. “First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is Above the Law Amendment. It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office. I share our Founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited, not absolute. We are a nation of laws—not of kings or dictators,” he said.
This is likely in response to the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling, which determined that Presidents cannot be prosecuted for “official acts” performed while in office. The decision pertained to a case involving former President Donald Trump, who was indicted by a federal grand jury for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Biden’s second reform was setting term limits for Supreme Court justices. “Second, we have had term limits for presidents for nearly 75 years. We should have the same for Supreme Court justices,” Biden said.
“The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come. I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court,” the US President said.
This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 29, 2024
Not the President of the United States.
Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.
So today, I'm calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court…
During his tenure, Donald Trump nominated three conservative justices, giving the Supreme Court a 6-3 conservative majority. Biden has been critical of this move and has increased his criticism of the Supreme Court in recent times.
“Third, I’m calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. This is common sense. The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Justices should be required 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. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.
“All three of these reforms are supported by a majority of Americans—as well as conservative and liberal constitutional scholars. In America, no one is above the law. In America, the people rule,” he added.
According to reports, implementing term limits and an ethics code for the Supreme Court are likely to require new legislation, and with the US Congress currently divided, this issue isn’t going to be resolved before the end of 2024. While Biden’s while Democratic Party has a slim majority in the Senate, the House is controlled by Republicans.
Even if Democrats get control of both chambers following the November 5 Presidential election, they are unlikely to achieve the 60 Senate seats required to overcome a filibuster, reports said.
