President Biden said Monday he wants Congress to impose “bold” rules, including term limits on the Supreme Court and a new code of conduct, and to draft a new constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity.
“The Supreme Court’s extreme decisions in recent years have undermined some of the longest-standing civil rights principles and protections,” Biden argued Monday at the Johnson Presidential Library during an event marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
Biden cited several recent cases, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Trump v. United States, which he said “most shockingly” established presidential immunity and called it a “dangerous precedent.”
“This court is being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda,” President Biden said, calling the immunity decision “an utter affront to our basic expectations of those who hold power.”
Biden, Harris call for Supreme Court term limits, code of conduct, and limits on presidential immunity
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, on July 29, 2024. (Getty Images)
“My fellow Americans, my experience tells me that these reforms are necessary. They are necessary to restore confidence in our courts and to preserve the system of checks and balances essential to our democracy,” he said.
Biden’s Reforms The bill would eliminate all immunity enjoyed by former presidents for crimes committed while in office. As for the Supreme Court, Biden wants to limit justices’ terms to 18 years. If the bill is fully adopted, the president would be able to appoint new justices every two years.
Biden is a new supreme court The code of conduct should require judges 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.”
President Biden descends the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Susan Walsh/The Associated Press)
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said such radical reforms would be “unacceptable” in the House, and it is unclear whether Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York will push for them in the Senate.
Biden fired back Monday, saying Johnson’s “idea” was “dead on arrival.”
The change marks a shift in Biden’s stance on the Supreme Court, after he long resisted calls from within his party for reforms such as increasing the number of justices on the court, calling it a “foolish” idea that would undermine the court’s credibility.
But now that the Supreme Court is dominated by Republican candidates, Biden has pivoted to a much more radical approach.
Vice President Harris, who is running for president, also supported the move on Monday. “The Supreme Court is facing a clear crisis of confidence today as a series of ethics scandals and decisions overturning long-standing precedents call into question its impartiality,” she said.
Trump immunity case: Supreme Court rules former presidents have broad protection from prosecution
Supreme Court Justices pose for an official photograph at the Supreme Court. (Photo: Olivier Dourilley/AFP via Getty Images)
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Biden’s announcement on Monday marks his first policy developments since he abruptly dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris, saying hours earlier he was “running to win.”
