Biden’s Radical Court “Reform” Scheme Threatens Americans’ Civil Liberties

July 29, 2024

by First Liberty Institute • 4 minutes

Today, President Biden published an op-ed in the Washington Post unveiling his plan for sweeping and radical changes to the Supreme Court. “I am calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy,” the President wrote.

“I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court,” Biden said about ending life tenure for justices. “It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come.”

Biden also called for a binding “code of ethics” on the Supreme Court, claiming that this is a “common sense” change.

Don’t be fooled. President Biden’s court “reform” scheme is nothing more than a desperate attack to subvert the legitimacy of the Supreme Court because it contains a majority of justices committed to the Constitution and originalism. These proposals are unconstitutional and a threat to our Republic.

Term limits run afoul to the clear text of Article III of the Constitution. Term limits are simply court-packing by another name and are designed to purge the Supreme Court of justices who rule in accordance with the Constitution. Imposing term limits would immediately remove the longest-serving and most conservative justices first. This proposal is an act of pure political revenge designed to force out Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the justices least-favored by the radical Left to make room for those favored by the party in power.

“Ethics reform” is nothing more than a dangerous attempt to give enemies of the judiciary the power to punish justices by subjecting them to investigations and fabricated scandals. Many ethics reform proposals give power to select Members of Congress to file ethics complaints against any justice, including justices who do not align with the Members’ ideology. Congress has no business interfering with the actions of the judiciary. Such proposals are an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers.

President Biden’s court “reform” is simply a thinly veiled political scheme to intimidate the U.S. Supreme Court. It would open the door to far more radical ideas being pushed by the far Left, including court-packing.

In a Fox News op-ed, First Liberty President & CEO Kelly Shackelford—alongside former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr—expose Biden’s plan for what it really is: a brazen power grab.

“The left continues these moves to take over the Supreme Court because they are angry about recent decisions that have not gone their way,” Barr and Shackelford explain. “Transforming the Supreme Court into another partisan body would destroy the independence of the judiciary and threaten the civil liberties of all Americans…The last thing we need in this country right now is a Supreme Court Coup.”

“To protect religious freedom and all of our cherished liberties, judges must be able to make decisions without fear of partisan retribution from the executive or legislative branches,” Barr and Shackelford add. “Biden and Harris’ ‘court reform’ would destroy that.”

In his recent announcement, Biden didn’t specifically say he’d push for court-packing or expand the size of the Supreme Court. But that doesn’t mean he’s discarded that option or that other candidates won’t consider it in the future.

In fact, presumptive presidential nominee VP Kamala Harris, who received Biden’s full endorsement, has already expressed support, stating she was “absolutely open” to court-packing.

If this Supreme Court Coup succeeds, the rule of law will be over as the judiciary will become little more than a political tool of whomever holds power. The Supreme Court will no longer be a safeguard of our civil liberties. Instead, our judicial system will be little more than a political tool used to crush the freedom of Americans.

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.

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! Americans who care about their freedoms need to speak up and stand up against this attempted coup. Forward this information 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.