CNN
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President Joe Biden Monday called for major Supreme Court reforms, a move that would make him the first sitting president in generations to advocate for seismic changes in the way the nation’s highest court operates, according to a White House official.
Calling for a constitutional amendment to remove presidential immunity for crimes committed while in office, term limits for Supreme Court justices and rules of conduct for the Supreme Court, Biden’s proposed reforms are unlikely to go anywhere with a divided Congress. But it serves as an election-year message designed to energize Democrats’ progressive base. Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, quickly endorsed the proposed changes, which came at a deeply unpopular time for the high court.
Biden’s announcement at an event commemorating the Civil Rights Act in Austin, Texas, follows this month. A monumental result The Supreme Court grants absolute immunity to presidents for certain actions taken during and after office A wave of revelations About judges accepting vacations and gifts from wealthy conservative donors. Democrats on the campaign trail often point to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority — confirmed by former President Donald Trump — to underscore what they see as the high stakes of the 2024 election.
A White House official said Biden would call for an amendment dubbed the “No One Above the Law Amendment,” which would provide the Constitution with “no immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or punishment by having previously served as president.”
In what would be another big change, Biden would also call for term limits on Supreme Court justices who serve on lifetime appointments.
Biden’s proposed reforms would require congressional approval, which would be difficult to achieve before the end of his term because Republicans control the House and Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate. A constitutional amendment, meanwhile, would require a more complex process involving states that would seem almost impossible to win.
A White House official said the reforms, which have faced stiff opposition, are meant to “restore trust and accountability when it comes to the president and the Supreme Court of the United States.”
CNN reported this month Biden is seriously considering backing major Supreme Court reforms that liberal lawmakers and groups have been pushing for in recent years.
Biden’s proposals drew sharp and swift pushback from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. Assuming Republicans retain control of the chamber next year, Johnson said the plan will go nowhere in the House.
“Democrats want to change the system that has led our nation since the founding because they disagree with some of the court’s recent decisions,” Johnson said. “This risky gamble by the Biden-Harris administration is dead on the floor.”
Leonard Leo, a conservative attorney, accused Democrats of playing a key role in some of the ethics controversies swirling around the court and criticized the Biden administration’s proposals in a rare statement.
“No conservative justice has made a decision in any major case that would surprise anyone, so let’s stop pretending it’s about undue influence,” Leo said. “It’s about Democrats destroying a court they don’t agree with.”
Leo, the board co-chair of the influential Federalist Society, was subpoenaed by Senate Democrats in April. The Senate Judiciary Committee is seeking to better understand whether certain individuals and groups have used undisclosed gifts to gain access to judges. Leo called the subpoena “illegal” and “politically motivated” and told CNN at the time that he was “not capitulating” to the request.
Others applauded the administration’s ideas.
Rhode Island Democrat and Judiciary Committee member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse described Biden’s announcement as a “strong” proposal.
“This court has proven time and time again that it cannot police itself,” he said.
Monday’s announcement comes more than three years after Biden created a commission to study structural changes to the Supreme Court, including proposals to increase term limits and the number of justices. The panel submitted its report to the White House in late 2021, but the administration did not pursue any of the ideas discussed in the document.
The debate over proposed structural changes to the Supreme Court has become deeply partisan, with Republicans widely opposed. But the issue has gained attention again after it was published in May Controversial flags Previously raised on properties owned by conservative Justice Samuel Alito. Both flags were flown by rioters during the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, although Alito has denied any connection to the incident and said his wife raised them for different reasons — including a fight with a neighbor.
Meanwhile, the court issued several controversial decisions this summer that drew sharp criticism on the left, including a stunning 6-3 ruling that gave Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution over his efforts to sway the 2020 election results.
Last year, the High Court accepted its own case Code of conduct. But the measure has been heavily criticized by ethics experts because there is no way to enforce its requirements. Liberal Justice Elena Kagan supported the code of conduct in opinions last week, but conceded It will be very useful If it includes an enforcement mechanism.
Polls indicate support for Biden’s proposed court is near historic lows. A Marquette Law School Poll It found in May that 61% of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing. Four years ago, the court had a 66% approval rating in the same poll.
Democrats have sought to capitalize on public disapproval of the court — particularly its 2022 decision in Roe v. Repeal Wade – to drive voters. Biden and Harris have made that decision central to their campaign argumentsHopefully the abortion rights issue will energize voters heading into November.
Harris endorsed the proposed changes in a statement released by his campaign on Monday, saying they will “restore confidence in the judiciary, strengthen our democracy and ensure that no one is above the law.”
He also said there was a “clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court”.
“Over the course of our nation’s history, faith in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under the law,” Harris wrote. “President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people should have faith in the Supreme Court. Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court, as its legitimacy has been questioned after several ethics scandals and the decision reversed long-standing precedent.
Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has resisted calls from his party to expand the court, has been increasingly critical of its makeup. He has He described the Supreme Court as the “Supreme Court”. And he warned about the potential impact of a second Trump presidency on the nation’s Supreme Court.
Biden is making his first trip 2024 will leave the raceEnding President Lyndon B. A president honoring Johnson will call for changes at the library. His own re-election bid In 1968. Biden will also use his remarks to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the landmark legislation that cemented Johnson’s legacy.
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
CNN’s MJ Lee and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
