President Joe Biden unveiled an overhaul to the U.S. Supreme Court, which he vowed would be a focus during his final months in office, CNBC reports.
Biden called for term limits on Supreme Court justices, a binding ethics code and a constitutional amendment declaring that presidents won’t have immunity from criminal prosecution from any crimes committed during their time in office called the ‘No One Is Above the Law Amendment.’ The proposed amendment was made in response to the Supreme Court’s July ruling that former President Donald Trump was immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” he committed during his presidency.
The ethics code proposal was made in response to several Supreme Court justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, being caught in scandals that stemmed from accepting financial gifts leading to major conflicts of interest. Biden has publicly criticized the majority conservative Supreme Court during his presidency, which included its decision to repeal of federal abortion protections by striking down Roe v. Wade, limiting the use of affirmative action in college admissions and striking down his proposed student debt relief program.
Biden issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling on Trump earlier this month.
“This decision today has continued the Court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation,” Biden said via CNBC.
Biden’s plan to overhaul the Supreme Court comes eight days after he announced his decision to end his re-election campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. The president confirmed that the Supreme Court proposal would be a priority during his final six months in office.
“I’m going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy,” Biden said while addressing the nation in a speech from the Oval Office last Wednesday (July 24).
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