Under the Biden-Harris Supreme Court reform plan, Justices Thomas, Alito and Roberts will all retire as current Supreme Court justices.
Under Biden Supreme Court term limits proposal, “Congress approved presidential term limits more than 75 years ago, and President Biden believes they should do the same with the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives high court judges lifetime seats. Term limits would help secure the court provide for some regular changes in membership; make the timing of court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the likelihood that any single presidential term will exert undue influence on future generations. President Biden supports a system in which the president is elected every year. A justice is appointed every two years and serves on the Supreme Court for eighteen years.
Presumptive nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed the reform plan:
Over the course of our nation’s history, faith in the United States Supreme Court has been critical to achieving equal justice under the law. President Biden and I firmly believe that the American people must have confidence in the Supreme Court. Today, however, the Supreme Court faces a clear crisis of confidence as its impartiality is called into question following numerous ethics scandals and decisions that overturn long-standing precedent.
That’s why President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reforms — from imposing term limits on justices’ active appointments to requiring justices to abide by binding ethics rules like other federal judges. Finally, in our democracy, no one should be above the law. So we must also ensure that no former president enjoys immunity for crimes committed while in the White House.
These welcome reforms will help restore confidence in the courts, strengthen our democracy and ensure no one is above the law.
The plan cannot pass this year, but the focus is on showing voters what Democrats would do if they won the election. If Democrats retain the Senate, opposition to abolishing the filibuster will disappear and the Senate will not be an obstacle to plans to reform the Supreme Court. House Democrats are ready to pass the plan. They need a majority, and if Harris wins the White House, she will support this reform.
The reform would move Roberts, Alito and Thomas into executive positions that would remove them from serving as Supreme Court justices.
Harris will nominate three new justices, and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority will change from 6:3 to a 6:3 liberal majority.
The plan could become a reality next year, and all it would take is Democratic voters to show up and vote.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
