Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent Approval President Joe Biden’s calls for constitutional amendments to counter Supreme Court decisions on term limits, ethics reform and presidential immunity represent a dangerous departure from constitutional norms.
The reform push appears aimed at promoting left-wing policies while diverting attention from the administration’s worsening failures, rather than restoring public trust. (Related article: Biden’s new Supreme Court approach is pure ‘political theater,’ experts say)
The Biden-Harris administration has been a vocal critic of the Supreme Court, describing it as a bastion of corruption and extremism.
This rhetoric appears to be a strategic maneuver designed to weaken the authority of the Supreme Court. Such a strategy not only challenges the Court’s fundamental role, but also constitutes an attack on the separation of powers that undermines effective governance.
The Supreme Court is a vital component of our constitutional republic, serving as a check on the tyranny of the majority. The adage “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch” emphasizes the importance of protecting individual rights from majority rule.
The role of the Supreme Court is to prevent such tyranny and uphold the principles of the Constitution.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as he enters the House of Representatives chamber to deliver his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. It will be Biden’s final address before the general election in November. (Photo by Shawn Zaw Pool/Getty Images)
The administration has portrayed the Supreme Court as deeply divided and corrupt, but this does not reflect reality. The Court’s performance last term was much more consensual than expected: About 50% of cases were unanimous, and only 8% were split 6-3 along ideological lines.
In 90% of cases, at least one liberal justice was in the majority. Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan were in the majority more often than conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, suggesting that the ideological divide is less than has been claimed.
Beyond the Supreme Court’s performance, the Biden-Harris administration is at odds with the rule of law and the Supreme Court on several key issues.
The Court has invalidated the government’s use of taxpayer funds to ease the burden of student loan repayment, as well as government overreach and unnecessary regulation that has led to higher costs, hurting small businesses, and increasing the cost of living for Americans.
Moreover, the greatest danger to the Republic is the Administration’s use of its proxies to censor dissent and to use the Department of Justice as a weapon against political opponents.
Rather than calling for an independent judiciary, the administration seems to want robed, politician-like judges to legislate in the courts and enact policies in Parliament that would not pass on their merits alone.
This focus on the courts is merely a smokescreen to hide the Administration’s own shortcomings, which are plagued by serious issues like border security, rising food prices, pro-crime policies, and global instability.
Instead of addressing these urgent concerns, the Administration is shifting public opinion by attacking the Supreme Court.
Proposals to impose term limits or amend the Constitution to combat certain rulings pose serious threats to the independence of the Supreme Court, whose legitimacy depends on its ability to render impartial decisions free from political pressure.
Changing the structure or functioning of the Court to suit political agendas could undermine this independence and transform the Court from a defender of constitutional principles into a politically manipulated institution.
“If Kamala Harris wins the White House, she will almost certainly win the House and the Senate, the Senate filibuster will disappear, and the Supreme Court will be packed with extremists,” warned Mike Davis, president of the Article III Foundation. This scenario reflects concerns that the administration’s actions could lead to major changes in the composition and role of the Supreme Court.
The current administration’s attacks on the Supreme Court represent a deliberate attempt to undermine this foundational institution, rather than a genuine concern for the court’s integrity.
The so-called crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court is a ploy to cover up the failures of the Biden-Harris Administration. Undermining this vital democratic institution to distract from the Administration’s agenda is more threatening to our democracy than any crisis within the Supreme Court itself.
Frank Rich was lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case, Rich v. DeStefano. He retired as a battalion commander in New Haven, Connecticut. He has testified before Congress and is the author of the book “Command Presence.”
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