WASHINGTON −President Joe Bidencalled for major changes to the Supreme Court on Monday, including legislation to impose 18-year term limits and enforce a code of ethics on justices.
He also put his support behind passage of anew constitutional amendmentthat would limit immunity for presidents − a direct response to the Supreme Court's ruling this monththat former President Donald Trump is protected from criminal prosecution for actions taken in his "official" capacity as president
Biden, just eight days after withdrawing from the 2024 election, formally announced his positions in an address Monday afternoon at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library that marked the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
"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," Biden said during his remarks in Austin, Texas. "Extremism is undermining the public's confidence in the Court's decisions."
The moves mark a seismic shift for Biden, who had previously resisted a structural overhaul of the nation's highest court.
Although he's no longer a candidate himself, Biden is making the nation's high court a central issue for his final six month months as president − and handingVice President Kamala Harris, the new presumptive Democratic nominee, a hot-button topic to hit on the campaign trail and energize progressive votersand others increasingly skepticalof the court.
Yet Biden stopped short of calling for expanding the size of the Supreme Court − a proposal that is popular among progressives as a way of counteracting the current conservative supermajority.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents cannot be prosecuted for "official acts" during their time in office. The court's ruling stemmed from the Justice Department's case against former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Presidents can still be prosecuted for unofficial criminal behavior, the court ruled.
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.
Biden, a U.S. senator for 36 years, wrote that he had overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today.
Supreme Court:In defending gifts from a GOP billionaire, Clarence Thomas raises more questions among his critics
Biden during his speech at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library specifically criticized the recent Supreme Court ruling that said “official” acts taken by a president are protected - but not steps taken as a candidate.
"We're a nation of laws," Biden said. "Not kings and dictators."
None of the legislative proposals, however, have a likely chance of passing in a divided Congress. The measures would need 60 votes in the Senate to block a Republican filibuster.
Harris, who is on track to formally be nominated the Democratic nominee next month, said in a statement Monday that she supports the proposed changes because the Supreme Court faces a “clear crisis of confidence” from the American people.
"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.”
Republicans were quick to denounce the president's proposal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement that the amendments would be "dead on arrival in the House.”
“It is telling that Democrats want to change the system that has guided our nation since its founding simply because they disagree with some of the Court’s recent decisions," he said in a statement.
During his remarks in Austin, Biden slammed back at the House Speaker, saying "I think his thinking is dead on arrival."
A conservative supermajority
Biden's push is a salvo by the Democratic presidentamid an increasingly tense relationshipwith a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court that has angered the left with recent decision overturning the decision that made abortion legal nationwide, ending affirmative action in college admissions, blocking Biden's action to cancel student loan debt for college students and limiting federal authority to combat climate change.
Trump appointed three justices to the court while Biden appointed only one, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Congress approved term limits for the presidency more than 75 years ago, and Biden said it should do the same for the Supreme Court.
Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity and reduce the chance that any single presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come, he says.
Biden said he supports a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the court.
A third proposed change includes a binding code of conduct for the high court.
This would require justices 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.
In July, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., filed articles of impeachment againstSupreme Courtjustices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito over accusations of ethics violations and political bias.
Thomas pulled the court into an ethics firestorm last year after it was revealed he had failed to disclosemillions of dollars in luxury traveland other gifts from billionaire friends.
“Justice Thomas and Alito’s repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law," the Bronx Democrat said.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @SwapnaVenugopal
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
