Biden pushes for Supreme Court reforms
President Joe Biden is pushing a plan to reform the Supreme Court. He argues the court is extreme and needs term limits and an ethics code.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - President Joe Biden is pushing a plan to reform the Supreme Court. He argues the court is extreme and needs term limits and an ethics code. The changes President Biden is calling for would dramatically reshape the Supreme Court, but he needs Congress to get it done.
"Extremism is undermining the public confidence in the court's decisions,” said Biden.
Full of criticism for the Supreme Court, President Biden laid out a plan to change it.
“I'm calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy,” said Biden.
He proposed 18-year term limits for justices, a binding code of ethics, and a constitutional amendment to reverse the court's recent ruling solidifying presidential immunity. This comes after several controversial decisions from the court and amid concern over various ethical scandals surrounding justices' personal behaviors.
“These fringe rulings and ethical scandals are not the signs of a healthy Supreme Court. They are the signs of a court run amok,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer agreed with the president and said Congress should follow through with passing the reforms. But others disagree.
“The left wages daily warfare against these justices,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accuses Democrats of being motivated by politics.
"President Biden and his leftist allies don't like the current composition of the court, so they want to shred the Constitution to change it,” said McConnell.
Senator Schumer argues lawmakers have a responsibility to act.
"It's plain as day that Congress is well within its rights to conduct oversight,” said Schumer.
With control of Congress split between the parties, the reforms are unlikely to pass any time soon. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the plan dead on arrival.