Biden wants Supreme Court term limits and ethics rules

US President Joe Biden has launched an ambitious proposal to reform the Supreme Court, asking lawmakers to impose term limits and create a code of conduct to “restore trust and accountability” to its nine justices.

The conservative-leaning court has become a political hotbed in recent years, with its nine justices — unelected and able to serve for life — playing powerful roles in American life on everything from abortion to the environment.

Mr. Biden also called on lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment that would reduce presidential immunity, a move that would reverse a recent Supreme Court decision.

Efforts to reform the court are unlikely to be passed by the US Congress.

Democrats, however, hope that pushing for reform can help voters persevere ahead of the November 2024 election.

The Supreme Court has ruled in a series of landmark cases over the past two years, beginning with the end of the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022.

At the same time, it was caught up in allegations of violations of legal principles, especially after journalists investigated Justice Clarence Thomas for not giving gifts.

In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Monday morning, Mr Biden said “what is happening now is unusual”.

“It undermines public confidence in court decisions, including those that affect personal liberties,” he wrote in the Post. “Now we stand in violation of the law.”

To deal with these problems, Mr. Biden proposed to end the employment of all people in the court.

Instead, he believes that sitting presidents should appoint a new justice to the court every two years, who will serve an 18-year term.

Reform advocates have previously suggested that the 18-year age limit would help depoliticize the court and make it more equitable and representative.

Additionally, Mr. Biden is pushing Congress to create a new ethics code that would force judges to disclose gifts and avoid overtly political activities.

Although the court issued a code of ethics for the first time in its history last year, the code has no enforcement mechanism.

“All other federal judges are bound by mandatory rules of conduct,” the president wrote. “There is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempted.”

Finally, Mr. Biden hopes to pass an amendment to the US constitution that will reverse the decision of July 1 in which the Supreme Court said that Donald Trump and other former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution.

In a controversial decision, the court's judges found that the president does not have “legal acts” but is not immune from “illegal acts”.

In his case, Mr Biden said the proposed amendment – which he called “No One Above the Law” – would “clarify that there is no immunity for crimes committed by a former president while in office.”

“I agree with the belief of our founders that the power of the president is limited, not absolute,” he wrote. “We are a nation of laws – not of kings or dictators”.

Republicans have pushed back on efforts to overhaul the court.

In a statement on Monday, the Trump campaign accused President Biden and vice president – and Democratic nominee – Kamala Harris of working to “undermine the legitimacy” of the court.

“It's all part of Kamala's plan to fill the Supreme Court with leftist, hard-line justices who will issue decisions based on politics, now the law,” Trump said in a statement.

On Sunday, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that the Democrats did not make an effort to do that when the most fanatical group of judges “put out their favorite ideas.”

Earlier this month, Trump also described efforts to reform the court as an “illegal” and “unconstitutional” attack on a “sacred” institution.

“Democrats are trying to interfere in our presidential election, and destroy our judicial system, by attacking their political opponents, me and our honorable supreme court,” he wrote. “We must fight for our fair and independent courts, and protect our country.”

Mr. Biden is expected to speak about the proposed changes at an event in Austin, Texas later on Monday afternoon.

Legal experts have told the BBC they doubt Mr Biden's proposed reforms will ever come to fruition.

Professor Daniel Urman, who teaches law and public policy at Northeastern University in Boston, described the proposal as “too little, too late”.

“It's rare for lame-duck presidents to win legislative victories, and, anyway, Republicans, happy with the current Supreme Court, control the house,” said Prof. Urman.

“The interesting question is what [Vice President] Harris will do this issue during the campaign,” he added. “Court reform is very popular, especially term limits.”