Three Cuban-American House Republicans are comparing President Biden to some of Latin America’s most notorious dictators over his proposed Supreme Court reforms.
Florida Republican Reps. Maria Salazar, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez recorded a video earlier this week arguing that Biden’s plan is consistent with tactics used by Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez and current president Nicolas Maduro, whose recent reelection was widely condemned by the international community as illegitimate.
Salazar called Biden’s plan “outrageous” and “antithetical to the system we all enjoy, to American exceptionality.”
Biden, Harris call for Supreme Court term limits, code of conduct, and limits on presidential immunity
Three House Republicans compared President Biden (right) to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Getty Images)
“I mean, this has happened many times throughout history, when someone tries to change the system for political reasons, and the Supreme Court has played a vital role in maintaining the rule of law and democracy in this country,” Diaz-Balart said.
“This is extremely dangerous, unacceptable behavior and a real threat to our democracy and all of the freedoms we enjoy in the United States.”
Jimenez agreed, adding: “We had a prime example yesterday of the threat to democracy, with the Maduro regime trying, or attempting, to annul the elections and remain in power.”
“What was the first thing Hugo Chavez did when he became president 24 years ago? He reformed the Supreme Court of Venezuela and legalized things for himself,” Jimenez continued. “Meddling with the judicial system is a way to maintain power, and this is really dangerous for national security, for our security, and for the security of our democracy here in the United States.”
Trump immunity case: Supreme Court rules former presidents have broad protection from prosecution
The three also compared him to Venezuela’s longtime president, Hugo Chavez. (Reuters)
Salazar then slammed Democrats’ warnings that former President Trump was a threat to democracy, adding: “The president of the United States is saying he wants to change our democracy. Not President Trump, but President Biden. So we have to be very careful, because when you mess with the Supreme Court, you’re messing with the heart of the American institution.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Biden detailed his plans for a binding ethics code and constitutional amendments that would limit presidential immunity and mandate term limits for Supreme Court justices in an op-ed published in the newspaper. The Washington Post on monday.
The plan was almost universally opposed by Republicans but was praised by Biden’s Democratic allies who have pushed for similar or even more radical reforms to the Supreme Court.
Democrats plan to confirm their nominees in a virtual roll call weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to avoid legal disputes.
The video is part of a wave of fallout from President Biden’s proposed Supreme Court reforms. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
“The apparent ethical violations and increasing politicization have revealed a Supreme Court that is dysfunctional and urgently needs reform to restore the American people’s confidence in the Court’s integrity,” Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who has proposed a bill on the issue, wrote to X.
Click here to get the FOX News app
But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, suggested such changes would not be adopted in the Republican-controlled House.
“This proposal is the logical conclusion to the ongoing efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration and congressional Democrats to delegitimize the Supreme Court. Their demands to expand and staff the Court will soon be resumed,” Johnson said Monday. “This dangerous gambit by the Biden-Harris Administration failed the moment it was passed by the House of Representatives.”
