Under the Biden-Harris Supreme Court reform plan, Justices Thomas, Alito, and Roberts would all be retired as active Supreme Court justices.
Under the Biden Supreme Court term limit proposal, “Congress approved term limits for the Presidency over 75 years ago, and President Biden believes they should do the same for the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court Justices. Term limits would help ensure that the Courtâs membership changes with some regularity; make timing for Court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the chance that any single Presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come. President Biden supports a system in which the President would appoint a Justice every two years to spend eighteen years in active service on the Supreme Court.”
Presumptive nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed the reform plan:
In the course of our Nationâs history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law. President Biden and I strongly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court. Yet today, there is a clear crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court as its fairness has been called into question after numerous ethics scandals and decision after decision overturning long-standing precedent.
That is why President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reforms â from imposing term limits for Justicesâ active service, to requiring Justices to comply with binding ethics rules just like every other federal judge. And finally, in our democracy, no one should be above the law. So we must also ensure that no former President has immunity for crimes committed while in the White House.
These popular reforms will help to restore confidence in the Court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law.
This plan can’t pass this year, but the point is to show voters what will be done if Democrats win the election. If Democrats keep the Senate, the opponents to getting rid of the filibuster will be gone, so the Senate would not be an obstacle to a Supreme Court reform plan. Democrats in the House are ready to pass the plan. They need a majority, and if Harris is in the White House, she is on board with this reform.
The reform would move Roberts, Alito, and Thomas into executive status, which would make them inactive Supreme Court justices.
Harris would nominate three new justices, and the court would go from a 6-3 conservative majority to a 6-3 liberal majority.
This plan could be a reality by next year, and all it takes is for Democratic voters to show up and vote.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
