Niels Lesniewski | (TNS) CQ-Roll Call
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Monday that he wants term limits for Supreme Court justices and to overturn the court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity that benefited former President Donald Trump.
“I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms,” Biden wrote in part of an opinion piece shared in advance of publication. “We now stand in a breach.”
Specifically, Biden will use scheduled remarks at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, on Monday to call for overhauling the Supreme Court, including 18-year terms for justices (meaning that the president would appoint a new justice once every two years). He also wants a new binding code of ethics for the justices. Biden’s trip to Austin was originally scheduled while he was still an active candidate for president, but it was postponed after the attempted assassination of Trump.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who sponsored legislation on both Supreme Court ethics and on the length of terms for justices, was among the Democrats happy to hear reporting of the president’s planned announcement.
“I couldn’t be happier that they’re moving in this direction,” Whitehouse said, suggesting that Vice President Kamala Harris, now the expected Democratic presidential nominee, “will be completely on board.”
Whitehouse declined to get into the specifics of his conversations last week ahead of he president’s speech, but he did say that he had been “in touch” with the administration about the topic of overhauling the Supreme Court.
In addition to the Supreme Court changes, Biden is backing a “No One Is Above the Law” constitutional amendment that, according to a White House fact sheet, “will state that the Constitution does not confer any immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or sentencing by virtue of previously serving as President.” That would effectively overturn the recent presidential immunity ruling in Trump v. United States, in which the 6-3 majority found that “Congress may not criminalize the President’s conduct in carrying out the responsibilities of the Executive Branch under the Constitution.”
The opinion, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., sent the case back for lower court review of which charges brought against Trump, who is now the Republican presidential nominee, are tied to official acts.
The White House noted that Biden has long experience with confirmation battles, including during his decades in the Senate, which included time as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
“From his first day in office — and every day since then — President Biden has taken action to strengthen American democracy and protect the rule of law,” Monday’s fact sheet said. “In recent years, the Supreme Court has overturned long-established legal precedents protecting fundamental rights. This Court has gutted civil rights protections, taken away a woman’s right to choose, and now granted Presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office.”
Michael Macagnone contributed to this report.
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