Biden vows sweeping reform of Supreme Court
President Joe Biden intends to announce a landmark Supreme Court reform package that includes "enforceable ethics reform."
Biden has previously opposed making sweeping changes to the High Court, but the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the proposal would suggest term limits.
"He is also weighing whether to call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional officeholders," sources told the Washington Post.
As a former Democratic Senate Judiciary Chairman, Biden has in the past opposed changes like expanding the courts. After Justice Clarence Thomas's many reports of ethical breaches, the public approval of the court sank to historic lows. After the Court eliminated the long-standing Roe v. Wade ruling, the approval cratered.
Others have called for a special counsel to be appointed to investigate Thomas' alleged ethical breaches. Legal analysts doubt it is in the cards, however.
Among those consulted on the matter by Biden was former Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe, who had penned an op-ed in The Guardian that Biden reportedly read.
The matter was pitched to the Congressional Progressive Caucus during a Zoom call over the weekend, prior to the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
“I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court because I’m about to come out — I don’t want to prematurely announce it — but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court. … I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” Biden told the group, the Post said after reading a transcript of the discussion.