President Joe Biden has called for major Supreme Court reforms through constitutional amendments saying something inconsistent with the American Constitution is happening to the separation of powers doctrine. The proposals include barring the president from immunity for crimes committed while in office, limiting the terms of this Court’s justices, and a binding code of conduct for the high court. How to materialize this announcement indicates that doing so may not be possible for the President and his camp.
This announcement, so far, doesn’t look more than an election-year message designed to excite the Democrats’ progressive base. Vice President Kamala Harris, the potential Democratic presidential nominee endorsed Biden stating, “I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers laid out in our Constitution, but what’s happening now is not consistent with that doctrine of separation of powers.”
This message came after this month’s decision by the Supreme Court granting presidents full immunity for some actions taken while in office and after a tide of revelations about justices accepting vacations and gifts from wealthy conservative donors. Biden also praised Harris and her ability to carry on the fight. “In recent years, extreme opinions that the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long-established civil rights principles and protections,” Biden said listing some cases including on the immunity.
“No one is above the law. For all practical purposes the recent ruling would allow a president to disobey the law and face no consequences” he said adding “I share our Founders’ belief that the president must answer to the law.” Former president and the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized stating, “Biden desperately wants immunity. There’s no way he would write off immunity for a president.”
However, important in this regard is how to materialize what Mr. Biden wishes through constitutional amendments. This requires congressional consent and Republicans control the House as Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate. There is a complicated process for the constitutional amendment as involves the states. The White House officials acknowledged the reform package faces a strong opposition. Steve Benjamin, the White House director of public engagement, said the proposed reforms would require some legislative action and hoped that voters would be able to power their representatives.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the proposal would go nowhere in the House, assuming Republicans hold control of the chamber. “Democrats want to change the system that has guided our nation since its founding simply because they disagree with some of the court’s recent decisions,” he said. “This Biden-Harris administration maneuver is dead on arrival in the House,” the Speaker added. Biden in response stated, the speaker’s “thinking is dead on arrival.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, “The Supreme Court is under attack” and both Biden and Harris should honor the court rulings instead of coming up with a scheduled attack on the justices who ruled against them.” Leonard Leo, a conservative legal advocate whom Democrats accuse of playing a central role in some of the court controversies criticized Biden’s administration saying, “No conservative justice has made any decision in any big case that surprised anyone, so let’s stop pretending this is about undue influence. It’s about Democrats destroying a court they disagree with.” The Senate Judiciary Committee is already seeking to understand if some individuals or groups have used undisclosed gifts to gain access to the justices, he said.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat and member of the Judiciary Committee has proposed legislation to tighten ethics rules at the court and called Biden’s proposal as strong. “This court has proven time after time that it cannot police itself,” he said. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said there is a remote possibility the chamber could pass court ethics legislation. He said, but they are urging Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring up Whitehouse’s bill before the end of the year.
Biden earlier created a commission to study structural changes at the Supreme Court, including term limits and proposals to increase the number of justices. A report was submitted to the White House in 2021, but no persuasion was made in this regard. The Republicans widely opposed the debate over proposed changes as the court gave a decision a month ago with 6-3 proportion that granted Trump immunity from criminal prosecution over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Biden’s proposal also as a polling indicates support for the court is flying historic lows. A Marquette Law School poll found that 61% of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing. Harris endorsed the proposed changes stating, “We would restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law. In the course of our Nation’s history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law.” She said, “President Biden and I strongly believe the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court. Yet today, there is a crisis of confidence the Supreme Court is facing as its fairness has been called into question after numerous scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.”
Biden called for the changes at the presidential library honoring President Lyndon B. Johnson, who ended his own reelection bid in 1968. Biden expressed this to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. He called for Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment that would eliminate immunity for crimes. “This nation was founded on the principle there are no kings in America,” Biden said adding “Each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law.” (By Rana Kashif)
