Special Poll
President Biden will propose term limits for Supreme Court justices and a constitutional amendment to address their recent decision on presidential immunity, according to a White House official. This significant announcement will take place during his speech at the LBJ Presidential Library on Monday afternoon, where he will also advocate for a binding code of conduct for the justices.
“This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one,” Biden wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday morning.
This move represents a major shift for Biden, who has previously resisted calls for Supreme Court reforms, fearing it would politicize the court. Conservatives have criticized these efforts as attempts to undermine the court’s current 6-3 conservative majority.
Biden’s stance towards the Supreme Court has hardened, especially after it overturned constitutional protections for abortion and granted former presidents criminal immunity. He hinted at this announcement in his recent Oval Office speech, where he addressed his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach,” Biden wrote in his op-ed.
One key part of Biden’s proposal responds directly to the recent immunity decision, which benefited former President Trump by affecting some aspects of his criminal prosecutions. Biden will propose a constitutional amendment to clarify that former presidents do not have criminal immunity from federal indictments. This “No One Is Above the Law Amendment” would not apply to state indictments.
“It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office. I share our Founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited, not absolute. We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators,” Biden wrote.
Additionally, Biden will advocate for 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, allowing the sitting president to appoint a new justice every two years.
“The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court Justices. Term limits would help ensure that the Court’s membership changes with some regularity; make timing for Court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the chance that any single Presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come,” states a White House fact sheet on the proposal.
Biden will also support a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court, emphasizing the need for justices to disclose gifts, avoid political activities, and recuse themselves from cases with conflicts of interest. The Supreme Court has faced criticism over its ethics standards, particularly following reports of Justice Clarence Thomas and others accepting lavish gifts from billionaires.
“The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Justices should be required 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. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt,” Biden wrote.
In November, the Supreme Court adopted an ethics code after months of closed-door discussions, but its lack of enforcement mechanism has drawn criticism. Justice Elena Kagan recently endorsed the idea of an enforcement mechanism, becoming the first current justice to do so publicly.
Biden will present his reform proposals during an address at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. This trip was initially scheduled for earlier this month but was rescheduled following an assassination attempt on former President Trump.