03:53 (IST), July 30
Biden unveils plan to reform Supreme Court, says erosion of public trust puts US at ‘crisis point’
President Joe Biden has unveiled long-awaited proposals to reform the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on Congress to impose term limits on the court’s nine justices and establish enforceable ethics rules, and is also pressing lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment that would limit presidential immunity.
The White House outlined Biden’s court proposal on Monday, but with just 99 days until Election Day, it is seen as having little chance of being approved by a closely divided Congress.
Still, Democrats hope the bill will help voters weigh their choices in a close election. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic front-runner who has sought to frame her race against former Republican President Donald Trump as a “choice between freedom and chaos,” was quick to back Biden’s proposal. Harris added that the change is needed because “the Supreme Court is clearly facing a crisis of confidence.”
The White House is seeking to capitalize on growing anger among Democrats over the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, overturning landmark rulings on abortion rights and federal regulatory power that had been upheld for decades.
Liberals have also expressed concern that revelations of questionable ties and decisions by some of the court’s conservative members are undermining the court’s impartiality.
“I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers,” Biden argued in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday. “What is happening now is not normal and undermines public confidence in the Supreme Court’s decisions, including those that affect individual liberties. We are now in a crisis.”
