Today, in an effort to prevent the abuse of presidential power and restore the public’s faith in our judicial system, President Biden announced support to reform the Supreme Court and deliver on the Biden-Harris administration’s promise to protect our democracy and ensure no president is above the law.
President Biden called for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy. The Biden-Harris administration formally endorsed a constitutional amendment called the No One Is Above the Law Amendment, 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, and a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court should be the gold standard of judicial ethics, yet our Supreme Court justices are the only federal judges not bound by a code of ethics. With public trust in the Supreme Court at an all-time low, President Biden’s Supreme Court reforms are a critical solution to an urgent ethics crisis. Justices have acted with impunity while accepting lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors and refusing to recuse themselves from cases in which they have a clear conflict of interest demonstrating an abuse of unchecked power while simultaneously claiming even more power for themselves.
An overwhelming majority of voters want Congress to take action to reform the Supreme Court, including by passing 18-year term limits for current and future justices. 78% of voters want Congress to take action to impose a binding code of ethics and create greater accountability for U.S. Supreme Court justices.
We applaud President Biden and Vice President Harris for supporting urgently-needed reforms to restore trust in our nation’s highest Court by addressing the far-right extreme justices controlling the Court, their unethical behavior, and their attacks on our rights and freedoms. Today’s announcement signals that we can pursue freedom and work towards making this country one that serves all people – and not just a privileged few.
No one should have unchecked power for life.