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President Biden announced a proposal on Monday that would place three new reforms on the Supreme Court: term limits for justices, a binding code of ethics, and a constitutional amendment overturning the Court’s decision allowing sitting presidents immunity.
Senator Katie Britt took to X to voice her thoughts on the proposal. She denounced the driving motivation behind the reforms as “disliking a few of the Supreme Court’s decisions.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration has long made clear it wants to silence the voices of Justices who are faithful to the text of the Constitution and its original meaning,” Britt said in the post. “Today’s announcement is a long-anticipated, radical escalation by President Biden and VP Harris to end the Supreme Court’s ability to serve as an independent check on the Executive Branch and Congress.”
A constitutional amendment is nearly impossible for Biden to achieve, as it requires approval from three-quarters of the states. The “No One Is Above the Law” amendment would only serve as a statement against the justices’ recent actions.
Biden’s proposal for future appointments to the Supreme Court would allow a president to appoint a new justice every two years to serve for 18 years. A term limit is at odds with the Constitution since Article III states justices must engage in serious misconduct to be impeached, a vague guideline.
Biden also hopes to persuade Congress to pass enforceable conduct and ethics rules. As a result, justices would have to “disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.”
A binding code of ethics could be attainable, but getting the Republican-dominated court to adhere to its rules could take more work to accomplish.
Many Americans view the reforms as long overdue. Recent rulings have removed civil rights protections and allowed a wave of strict abortion bans in nearly half of the states, and the current term limits for justices would have us assume this is only the beginning.
