President Biden is set to deliver a significant speech on Monday advocating for legislative reforms that would bring about substantial changes to the Supreme Court. The proposed reforms include the implementation of term limits and the establishment of an enforceable code of ethics for the justices.
The president will deliver his remarks at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas. This event marks his first public engagement since announcing the end of his presidential campaign last week. The speech is intended to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and introduce reforms that would require congressional approval. However, the initiative faces challenges in a Republican-controlled House and a divided Senate.
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is also in support of the changes that President Biden will outline in his speech.
President Biden is expected to argue that the current system of lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices allows a president to wield influence for an extended period. He will propose a new process where a president appoints a justice every two years, with each justice serving an 18-year term on the bench.
The proposed reforms also include the establishment of a code of conduct that mandates justices to disclose gifts, abstain from public political activities, and recuse themselves from cases involving conflicts of interest for themselves or their spouses.
Moreover, President Biden will call for a constitutional amendment aimed at restricting the broad presidential immunity that the court’s conservative majority supported in a recent ruling. This amendment would clarify that the Constitution does not grant immunity from federal criminal proceedings based on one’s prior service as president.
