https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-rips-extreme-opinions-as-he-pushes-for-supreme-court-reform/ar-BB1qQvut?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Note: In addition to the video, please see the following article included at the above-referenced internet address:

“Biden Pushes for Supreme Court Reform”

According to the article, President Joe Biden recently visited the LBJ Presidential Library to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and gave remarks on his new proposals to reform the U.S. Supreme Court.

The remarks were Biden’s first major speech since his Oval Office address last week on his decision to exit the 2024 race.

Proposed U.S. Supreme Court Reforms

In Austin, Texas, he discussed his administration’s work to protect civil rights and his calls for reforms to the nation’s highest court, including term limits and an enforceable code of conduct for justices as well as a constitutional amendment against presidential immunity, all of which face long-shot odds of congressional approval with a Republican-controlled House and closely divided Senate.

“In recent years, extreme opinions that the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined long established civil rights principles and protections,” Biden said.

“I have respect for institutions and the separation of powers laid out in the Constitution, but what’s happening now is not consistent with that doctrine of separation of powers. Extremism is undermining the public confidence in the court's decisions,” he continued, checking off recent decisions that he said led him to the reform proposals, saying those decisions have “undermined long established civil rights principles and protections.”

“And most recently and most shockingly, the Supreme Court established in Trump vs. the United States a dangerous precedent,” Biden said. “They ruled, as you know, that the president of the United States has immunity for potential crimes he may have committed while in office, immunity. This nation is founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each of us is equal before the law. No one is above the law!”

“Finishing the Job”

The setting for Biden’s remarks was also significant, as he is the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson to not seek reelection.

In stepping away from the campaign trail, Biden’s focus is now shifted to how to “finish the job” in the final few months of his presidency and cement the legacy of his decades-long political career.

“The president is focused like a laser beam on making sure that the next six months matter to the American people,” Stephen Benjamin, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, told reporters. “He is soliciting the ideas and thoughts of the best and brightest people in this administration, but also from across the country, asking people, ‘What is left undone, what else do we need to work to secure?’”

Benjamin said he expects the president to continue to work on accountability for the Supreme Court, fortifying the economy, lowering prices for American families and more.

On his 18-year term limit proposal, Biden said this will help ensure that the court changes with some regularity and would remove “an extreme court attacking the confirmation process.”

“That would make timing for the court’s nomination more predictable and less arbitrary. And reduce the chance that any single presidency imposes undue influence on generations to come,” he said.

Republicans in Congress signaled they are ready to challenge Biden’s agenda.

“Dead on Arrival”

House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the proposed Supreme Court reforms, which Biden is floating after several court controversies this term, as “dangerous” and said they are “dead on arrival in the House.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also argued in floor remarks that the administration is pushing for reform because they don’t agree politically with the court's recent decisions.

“Why is the Biden Harris administration so willing to put the crown jewel of our system of government, the independent judiciary, to the torch? Because it stands in their way,” McConnell said.

“Passing the Torch”

In closing, Biden spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris who supports his court reforms and who has now taken the torch from Biden as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I’ve made clear how I feel about Kamala,” Biden said. “She has been a champion of rights throughout her career. She will continue to be an inspiring leader and project the very ideal of America.”

Discussion Questions

1. What does the U.S. Constitution say specifically about the U.S. Supreme Court?

The U.S. Constitution is limited in terms of its prescriptions regarding the U.S. Supreme Court. The language can be found in Article III, Sections 1 and 2:

“Section 1: The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.”

“Section 2: … In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make…”

Note that the U.S. Constitution says nothing regarding term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, nor does it prescribe an enforceable code of conduct for justices. This is not to be taken that the Framers of the Constitution either favored or opposed such regulations.

2. In terms of his specific proposals regarding U.S. Supreme Court reform, President Biden supports 18-year term limits and an enforceable code of conduct for justices. In your reasoned opinion, are these positive changes for the U.S. Supreme Court? Why or why not?

This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. Your author strongly favors both term limits and an enforceable code of conduct for justices—18 years sounds like a reasonable period within which to “make one’s mark” and leave a legacy on the High Court, and in your author’s opinion, all professionals should be subject to an enforceable code of conduct for obvious reasons.

3. In terms of discussing the possibility of U.S. Supreme Court reform, is it possible to “set aside” politics? Why or why not?

I certainly hope your students are more optimistic than the author of this newsletter. Although your author is convinced that a substantial majority of the public is ready for bipartisanship in the mechanics of government, I am not sure that every politician is. The pressing realization here is that without negotiation, cooperation, and conciliation in government, the work of the people cannot be done—A healthy, functioning government requires bipartisanship, not gamesmanship.