President Joe Biden recently called for major changes to be made to the Supreme Court. One of the biggest changes being a constitutional amendment that would limit immunity for presidents and impose term limits for the Supreme Court Justices. His potential changes were backed by Vice President, and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.
President Joe Biden called for some major changes to be made to the Supreme Court this week. Just eight days after announcing that he was withdrawing from the 2024 election, President Biden formally announced his stance in an address on Monday at the Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidential Library, according to USA Today.
He positioned that the Supreme Court justices should have an 18-year term limit and abide by an enforced code of ethics. He also said he supports a new constitutional amendment that would limit immunity for presidents, “a direct response to the Supreme Court’s ruling this month that former President Donald Trump is protected from criminal prosecution for actions taken in his ‘official’ capacity as president,’ wrote Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Joey Garrison, Rebecca Morin of USA TODAY.
Biden previously resisted the idea of a total structural reformatting of the Supreme Court, but emphasized his respect for the institution and why the changes feel necessary.
“I have great respect for our institutions, the separation of powers laid out in our Constitution. What’s happening now is not consistent with that doctrine of separation of powers. Extremism is undermining the public’s confidence in the Court’s decisions.”
While Biden is no longer a candidate for the 2024 election, he’s made Supreme Court reformation the focus of his final six months in office. By doing so, he’s also giving prospective Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris a large topic to hit her campaign trail with. They’re hoping this focus will help motivate progressive voters.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that presidents can’t be prosecuted for “official acts” during their time in office. The court’s ruling came after the justice Department’s case against former President Donald Trump when he attempted to overturn the 2020 election.
“The ‘No One Is Above the Law Amendment’ will state that the Constitution does not confer immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction or sentencing by virtue of having been president,” according to USA Today.
Biden criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling in his speech.
“We’re a nation of laws. Not kings and dictators.”
On Monday, Harris made a statement that she supports Biden’s proposed changes, saying the Supreme Court is facing a “crisis of confidence” from Americans.
“In the course of our Nation’s history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law. President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court,” she said.
“These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
