Despite Biden’s official step back from the presidential race, he is using his remaining time in the Oval Office to put forward a proposal for major reforms in the Supreme Court.
Surprisingly, Republicans are not only open to Biden’s proposal but support it. According to polls, a majority of Republicans welcome Biden’s proposed measures with open arms. Voters have taken this proposal very positively on both sides of the political aisle.
How The Supreme Court Works Now
As it stands, the Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary branch of the United States government.
In any decision, the Supreme Court has the final say, and they can make rulings on cases that bring up questions about the Constitution or federal law. Supreme Court Justices sit on the court for life and have recently adopted their own non-binding code of conduct.
Reforms Have Not Been Announced Yet
CBS News reported that Biden was looking into bringing in reforms to bolster the ethical integrity of the court.
The president told Democrats in the Congressional Progressive Caucus that he was consulting experts on the possibility of reform and would announce these measures soon, a source told CBS News. The White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has refused to elaborate on proposed changes or when exactly an announcement will be made.
Biden Wants to Make Big Changes
The current president has proposed to introduce several measures that would change the way the Supreme Court functions on a fundamental level.
Biden plans to bring in an enforceable ethics code that would apply to the Supreme Court. He also aims to set term limits for Supreme Court Justices. This proposal has arrived after several recent decisions and ethics scandals from the Supreme Court.
The Reforms Are a Reaction to Recent Judgements
The proposed reforms were introduced after the Supreme Court made several controversial decisions that sparked outrage among the Democratic party.
Most notably, the removal of the federal right to abortion and the granting of Donald Trump immunity from prosecution for “official acts” as president have especially agitated the Democrats. Biden has put off calls from within his own party, but other scandals have sparked the need for change.
A String of Scandals From the Justices
The makeup of the Supreme Court has heavily skewed toward conservative after Trump’s appointment of a 6-3 ratio between the conservative and liberal justices. But the issue of the Supreme Court also boils down to individual conduct.
Justice Clarence Thomas has become embroiled in an ethical scandal about accepting luxury vacations from a billionaire donor to the Republican party. There have also been questions about his wife’s support for overturning the 2020 presidential election.
Issues of Patriotism
Clarence Thomas is not the only Supreme Court justice whose dubious actions have called the ethical integrity of the Supreme Court into question.
Justice Samuel Alito has faced recusal calls after reports that he had flown an upside-down American flag outside his home, which is a pro-Trump gesture. He said his wife flew the flag and only as a conflict with their neighbors.
Republicans Seem to Welcome the Reforms
Hart Research conducted a study earlier this year which found that 64% of voters support term limits for Supreme Court justices. This popularity covers voters for both major political parties.
Among Democrat voters, 78% supported term limits for Supreme Court justices, with 59% of independents in favor of limits and 51% of Republicans. Right now, Supreme Court justices serve until they die or choose to retire.
Trump Has Criticized the Proposal
Not all Republicans are convinced, especially Donald Trump, who created the huge conservative bloc on the Supreme Court during his presidency.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the proposed reforms an “illegal and unconstitutional attack on our SACRED […] Supreme Court”. However, constitutional law scholar, Laurence Tribe, said that Trump’s supermajority in the court has “essentially destroyed the framework of checks and balances over the course of our history.”
Bills for Reform Have Already Been Drafted
A group of Democratic senators have already introduced a bill that would set term limits for justices. The bill would require a new justice to serve every two years and spend 18 years participating in cases. After 18 years, the justice would be limited to “hearing a small number of constitutionally required cases.”
However, while voters are predicted to welcome the proposed reforms, whether these reforms can make it through Congress is a different story.
The Reforms Are Not Going Far Enough for Some
Biden’s plan does not include a change in position about packing the court, which means to balance how many justices in the higher and lower courts are liberal or conservative.
Biden has been encouraged from within his own party to add more than nine justices to the court to counteract the strong conservative majority. Some have warned that if the president were to do this, the next Republican president would do the same.
Conservative Supermajority Throws Political Balance
Reforming the Supreme Court may seem radical, but law scholars such as Tribe claim that the conservative supermajority skews the court’s ability to self-regulate.
Tribe said the court overturned decades’ worth of human rights “for no better reason than it now has the votes to do so.” However, he warned that there would be no quick fix for the court’s “outlandish excesses” but it could potentially be reined in.
