Public Citizen Welcomes the New Calls by President Biden for Significant Supreme Court Reforms

This morning, President Joe Biden announced that he intends to call for reforms to the Supreme Court, including term limits and a binding code of ethics. He also supported a constitutional amendment stating that the constitution does not confer on presidents and former presidents immunity from federal criminal law.

Craig Holman, Ph.D., government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, said:

“The White House’s endorsement of these critical court reforms comes at a time of increasing questions about the lack of transparency and accountability at the Court. The White House’s new calls for court reform will vastly boost the prospects of moving this reform legislation forward.”

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, added:

“Historically, the Supreme Court was the most popular and trusted branch of government, but recent ethics scandals and controversial rulings far outside the norm of basic American values have sunk public confidence in the Court to an all-time low. The dramatic drop in public confidence in the Supreme Court both undercuts the Court’s legitimacy and endangers the legitimacy of the judicial branch as a whole.

“It is also critical that we undo the damage caused by the overreaching SCOTUS decision in the presidential immunity case and ensure that no person — including the president — is above the law.

“Public Citizen enthusiastically supports this effort by the Biden-Harris Administration and lawmakers to impose term limits and a binding code of ethics on the Supreme Court, and we applaud the support for an amendment to ensure that no president is above the law.”