Biden unveils plans to reform the Supreme Court

Photo: Maunel Balce Ceneta Associated Press The American president arriving at the White House on Sunday.

Danny Kemp – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Published at 8:01

• United States

US President Joe Biden on Monday announced plans for urgent reforms to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, in a bold but long-term move as he seeks to make his mark on his final six months in office.

The 81-year-old Democrat, who will unveil his plans during a speech in Austin, Texas, is calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent decision supporting Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity.

He also wants to limit the number of terms of Supreme Court justices, who currently serve for life, following shock decisions such as the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion across the country for several decades.

Joe Biden is also calling for the adoption of a binding code of ethics, after a series of scandals.

“This nation was founded on a simple but profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. No one,” the president said in an opinion piece published Monday.

“What is happening now is not right and undermines public trust in the decisions of the Court, including those that impact individual liberties. We now find ourselves in a breach,” he said.

The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee in November, “look forward to working with Congress on these projects.” But they have little hope of getting through a deeply divided Congress during Biden’s presidency.

But they reflect Mr. Biden’s growing frustration with a court stacked with judges appointed by Mr. Trump, and as opinion polls show a growing loss of public trust in the institution.

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« Raising public awareness »

Mr. Biden has previously resisted calls to overhaul or reform the court, which has nine justices who serve for life. But the White House has indicated that Biden will now seek to limit Supreme Court justices to 18 years in office, with new justices appointed every two years.

That would “reduce the risk that a single presidency will impose undue influence on future generations,” a fact sheet says.

This year, the court has significantly curtailed the power of federal agencies while partially ruling in early July in favor of Republican nominee Trump’s immunity requests.

The latter is using the decision to challenge, among other things, his recent criminal conviction in a case involving bribes to a porn star.

Biden is also seeking the adoption of an ethics code “binding and enforceable” similar to those that apply to federal judges.

Of the nine justices on the court, six are conservatives, and half of them were appointed under Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court has been rocked by ethics scandals involving some of its ultraconservatives.

Justice Clarence Thomas recently admitted that two lavish vacations in 2019 were paid for by a billionaire Republican donor.

The 76-year-old Supreme Court senior also ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election after his wife helped campaign to keep Mr. Trump in power despite his election defeat.

Justice Samuel Alito rejected the request. calls to recuse themselves from certain cases related to Donald Trump.

Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told AFP that Biden had a “close to zero” chance of getting the bill passed, but that he was likely trying to “raise public awareness” and “present the Supreme Court as an election issue.”