Biden Plans to Support Sweeping Changes to the Supreme Court

July 17, 2024

by First Liberty Institute • 10 minutes

President Joe Biden plans to propose sweeping changes to the Supreme Court, according to recent reports. This includes legislation to impose term limits for justices, which would have the most immediate impact on the longest-serving members of the court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. He is also expected to push for an enforceable code of ethics.

Due to recent decisions that haven’t gone his way, Biden is now joining the radical Left to attack the Supreme Court. His new plan will be the latest desperate attack on the Court by politicians and some of the most radical groups in the country. Together, they are determined to grab power by any means necessary.

Make no mistake. Changing the courts for partisan reasons is a horrible idea. Simply put, this plan is one of the most dangerous threats to our country.

“Transforming the Supreme Court into another partisan body would destroy the independence of the judiciary and threaten the civil liberties of all Americans,” First Liberty President, CEO & Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford said.

“Joe Biden once said that changing the structure of the Court was ‘a bonehead idea’ that would ‘put in question the independence of the Supreme Court,’” added Shackelford. “The last thing we need in this country right now is a Supreme Court Coup that would threaten judicial independence and our democratic republic. This is a radical attempt by a desperate politician.”

According to the Washington Post, President Biden has been consulting Laurence Tribe—a hard Left, radical college professor—on how to change the Supreme Court. Tribe recently doubled down on remaking the high court, saying “there is a compelling need for supreme court reform, including a plan to impose an enforceable ethics code and term limits and possibly create several added seats.”

Former President Donald Trump reacted to Biden’s plan, calling called the move “unconstitutional” and “illegal” in a post on Truth Social.

“The Radical Left Democrats are desperately trying to ‘Play the Ref’ by calling for an illegal and unConstitutional attack on our SACRED United States Supreme Court. The reason that these Communists are so despondent is that their unLawful Witch Hunts are failing everywhere,” the former president wrote.

“The Democrats are attempting to interfere in the Presidential Election, and destroy our Justice System…We have to fight for our Fair and Independent Courts, and protect our Country,” Trump added.

Biden’s extreme proposals would destroy the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, all because it contains a majority of justices committed to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Term Limits: Purging Justices on the Court

Ending life tenure is just the Left’s way to get rid of conservative justices on the Court, who they see as obstacles to their radical agenda. This is a dangerous and constitutionally suspect proposal.

Life tenure for Supreme Court justices has worked well for more than 230 years. Lifetime judgeships help protect judicial independence and ensure the law is administered in predictable and equal ways. Alexander Hamilton called life tenure “one of the most valuable of the modern improvements in the practice of government.” Slapping term limits on Supreme Court justices would destroy these hallmark features built into our system of government.

First Liberty has explained that judicial term limits defy the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The “good behavior” clause of Article III of the Constitution—stipulating that justices “hold their offices during good behavior”—is rightly understood from English common law as an appointment for life. The term says what it means and means what it says. The judge may serve so long as they are properly carrying out their duties.

Judicial term limits are all about the Left rigging the Supreme Court in its favor. This is nothing more than an attempt to cancel justices. It’s simply the court-packing by a different name.

Fabricating Scandals to Punish Justices

“Ethics reform” isn’t about accountability, transparency, or any other euphemism. It violates the separation of powers and is all about giving enemies of the judiciary the power to punish justices who rule against the Left’s agenda by subjecting them to investigations and fabricated scandals.

What the Left is trying to do with so-called “ethics” legislation is to make American hallucinate misconduct. This is all part of undermiming the authority of justices who issue rulings with which the critics disagree and thus to undermine the authority of the rulings themselves.

House lawmakers already introduced a bill to create investigative offices inside the Supreme Court. The legislation would establish two dedicated bodies: the Office of Ethics Counsel and the Office of Investigative Counsel.

This incredibly alarming and in violation of the separation of powers. It would effectively give Congress power to meddle in the Court’s internal affairs. Not only would it give lawmakers authority to review and investigate “ethics” complaints against justices, but also lets them conduct investigations into their spouses and dependents.

This is an obvious ploy to punish justices that the far Left does not consider ideological allies. All this talk about Supreme Court “ethics reform” boils down to this: power.

Court Packing Still on the Table

In his most recent announcement, Biden didn’t specifically say he’d push for court-packing or expanding the size of the Supreme Court. But that doesn’t mean the option is off table or that he won’t consider it in the future.

Court-packing remains a real threat. In fact, the Left is pushing harder and harder for court-packing, claiming that expanding the size of the Court is the only way to “restore balance.” In virtually every headline or story you come across, many are urging the Democratic Party to make court-packing a central part of its election platform.

The New Republic published a piece titled “The Case for Expanding the Supreme Court Has Never Been Stronger.” Newsweek and the Washington Post published op-eds that called for adding seats and also “weakening” the nation’s highest court.

The New Republic made a rather superficial claim that “reforming the size of the court has happened many times over the years.” That argument twists history to make radical court-packing appear like just another common event in our political culture. But that’s far from the truth.

The size of the Supreme Court has only changed a few times in American history. There have only been seven changes to the Court’s size in more than 230 years since the Constitution was ratified. Plus, no changes in size have occurred in more than 150 years. According to an extensive historical study commissioned by First Liberty, only two previous changes in the Court’s size can arguably be categorized as outright court-packing attempts. And those rare partisan attempts to change the composition of the Supreme Court offer no justification for packing the Court today. Bottom line? Court-packing is not the norm.

As First Liberty has warned, court-packing is dangerous because it would turn the Supreme Court and the judiciary into nothing more than a tool of whomever holds power. Judges would lose their ability to enforce the rule of law with impartiality, and one of the most important pillars protecting our civil liberties—including religious freedom—would be gone.

Whether it’s court-packing or ending lifetime tenure for federal judges (court purging), or giving Congress “oversight” of the Court’s internal business, all of these proposals would be catastrophic. This radical Supreme Court Coup would be the gateway to tyranny in our country.

Americans Reject the Supreme Court Coup

Although some politicians and groups want to destroy our judicial system, most Americans do not want to turn our nation into a banana republic. They respect the courts and the judicial system. They want to uphold the rule of law.

Polling has revealed that 72% of Americans believe that the politicization of the Supreme Court threatens judicial independence. 69% do not want Congress taking over and setting rules for judicial ethics. 68% also oppose court-packing or expanding the size of the Court.

500,000+ Americans have already signed the Declaration of Judicial Independence saying: NO to court packing, NO to suspect judicial reforms, NO to the Supreme Court Coup.

Help us spread the truth! Forward this email to your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. More Americans need to know the threat this scheme poses. We need to work together to help save the priceless heritage of the U.S. Supreme Court.