Urging Parliament to Propose Constitutional Amendment
Harris Also Expresses Support in Separate Statement
U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to pursue a constitutional amendment aimed at limiting presidential immunity and abolishing the lifetime tenure of Supreme Court justices. He also intends to push for legal reforms introducing ethical regulations for Supreme Court justices. This move is seen as directly targeting former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate who was granted immunity by the recently conservative-leaning Supreme Court, while also aiming to rally support ahead of the U.S. presidential election just over three months away.
On the 29th (local time), President Biden announced these plans for constitutional amendment and Supreme Court reform through a White House press release and an op-ed in the U.S. daily Washington Post (WP).
President Biden stated, "I call for the proposal of a constitutional amendment affirming that 'no one is above the law,'" adding, "This will make clear that no former president has any immunity for crimes committed while in office." He emphasized, "The United States is a nation of laws, not kings or dictators," and shared the founding fathers' belief that presidential power is limited and not absolute.
Regarding the lifetime tenure of federal Supreme Court justices, he said, "I support a system where the president appoints one justice every two years for an 18-year term." He explained, "Term limits would help ensure a degree of regular turnover among members," and "reduce the possibility that a single president could dramatically alter the court's composition for the next generation."
The U.S. federal Supreme Court consists of nine justices serving lifetime appointments. During the Trump administration, three justices were appointed, resulting in a current court with six conservative justices and three liberal justices. The conservative-leaning court has issued controversial rulings, including recognizing presidential immunity for official acts committed during the president's term in relation to the four criminal cases against former President Trump. Among the conservative justices, Samuel Alito displayed the "inverted American flag," symbolizing rejection of the 2020 election results, at his home, and Clarence Thomas faced controversy for receiving lavish gifts, including luxury trips, from Republican donors and others.
President Biden argued, "The Supreme Court is facing an ethical crisis, in addition to dangerous and extreme rulings that overturn legal precedents such as Roe v. Wade." Earlier, the Supreme Court officially overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which had federally protected women's abortion rights, after 49 years in 2022.
Regarding the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, he criticized, "The 6-3 decision granting the president broad immunity for crimes committed while in office effectively means there are no limits on what a president can do," adding, "Even if a future president incites violent crowds to storm the Capitol and obstruct peaceful transfer of power, as happened on January 6, 2021, they may face no legal consequences." This referred to the January 6 incident where former President Trump, refusing to accept his 2020 election defeat, incited supporters to storm the Capitol and cause a riot.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has secured the Democratic presidential nomination, also called for judicial reform, citing a crisis of trust in the Supreme Court.
In a separate statement, Vice President Harris said, "The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of trust today due to repeated reversals of long-standing precedents and numerous ethical controversies raising questions about fairness," adding, "This is why I urge Congress to pass reforms alongside President Biden, including term limits for justices and binding ethical regulations similar to those for federal judges."
She stated, "In a democracy, no one should be above the law," and "We must ensure that former presidents do not have immunity for crimes committed while in office." She emphasized, "Such reforms will help restore trust in the courts, strengthen democracy, and ensure that no one is above the law."
Meanwhile, in the U.S., constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority approval in both the House and Senate to propose the amendment, followed by ratification by at least three-fourths of the states.
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