2024-07-29 23:31:55
The 81-year-old Democrat is calling for a constitutional amendment to reverse a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity, according to the White House.
The Democratic president is also calling for term limits on Supreme Court justices, who currently serve for life, after shocking decisions such as the nationwide repeal of abortion rights.
Mr. Biden, who will detail his plans later Monday in a speech in Austin, Texas, will also seek an enforceable ethics code after a string of scandals.
He confirmed he would pursue those reforms in a speech in the Oval Office last week outlining his priorities after deciding to withdraw from the 2024 election, though the plans have little chance of getting past a deeply divided Congress.
“This country was founded on a simple but fundamental principle: no one is above the law. Neither is the President of the United States. Neither does a United States Supreme Court justice. No one, Mr. Biden said in comments published on Monday. – What is happening now is not normal and undermines public trust in court decisions, including those that affect individual freedoms. We are now at a turning point.”
While the chances of such reforms are slim, they reflect Mr. Biden’s growing disillusionment with the court, which is staffed by dozens of Trump-appointed judges and polls show the public is increasingly losing confidence in the institution.
The White House said both Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee in the November election, “look forward to working with Congress” on the plans.
Mr. Biden has previously resisted calls to review or reform the court’s nine life judges.
But the White House said Mr. Biden would now seek to limit the terms of Supreme Court justices to 18 years, with new justices appointed every two years.
2024-07-29 23:31:55