(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is calling for reform of the Supreme Court, citing several recent high-profile decisions as a cause for concern and a catalyst for change.
“This Supreme Court has eviscerated civil rights protections, stripped women of their right to choose, and granted the president broad immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office,” the Biden administration said in a press release.
In an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday, Biden outlined three “bold” reforms needed to “restore trust and accountability” to the nation's highest court.
- It would ban immunity for former presidents for crimes committed while in office.
- Implement term limits for Supreme Court justices.
- Create a “binding” code of conduct for the Supreme Court.
The proposed constitutional amendment, which the White House has dubbed the “No Person is Above the Law Amendment,” aims to amend the 6-3 ruling that gives the president immunity for acts done in his “official” capacity.
“In effect, today's decision means that there are essentially no limitations on what the president can do,” Biden said of the July 2 decision, calling it an attack on “long-established legal principles in our country.”
Under Biden's proposed term limits for Supreme Court justices, justices would be appointed by the president every two years and serve terms of up to 18 years.
The final reforms establish a code of ethics and conduct for judges to follow, requiring them to disclose any gifts, not engage in public political activity and not take part in cases where they may have a conflict of interest.
“I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal and undermines public confidence in the Supreme Court's decisions, including those that affect individual liberties. We are now in a crisis,” Biden said in the op-ed.
His op-ed, outlining his reform measures in further detail, was published just hours before he was to speak at the Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
The speech was originally scheduled for July 15 but was postponed after the president was diagnosed with COVID-19.
