Critics argue that President Biden’s initiative to implement sweeping changes to the Supreme Court is an appeal to the left-wing faction of the Democratic Party, deviating from an administration previously characterized as “moderate.”
On Monday, Biden and Vice President Harris, who is now leading the Democratic presidential ticket, endorsed significant measures for Congress to consider, such as term limits, ethics regulations, and a constitutional amendment aimed at reducing presidential immunity.
Biden expressed in an op-ed for the Washington Post that he has “immense respect for our institutions and the separation of powers,” but stated that “the current situation is abnormal, eroding public trust in the court’s rulings, particularly those influencing personal freedoms. We find ourselves at a crossroad.”
This initiative represents a substantial shift for Biden, who historically resisted proposals from his party to reform the Supreme Court.
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President Biden descends the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on July 17, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)
Earlier in his Senate career, Biden referred to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposals for term limits on aging justices and court packing as “a bonehead idea.” Court packing refers to the act of increasing the number of justices on a court.
During his 2020 campaign, he opposed expanding the court’s size, arguing it would diminish its credibility.
With the announcement on Monday, Biden did not explicitly call for court packing. However, he is now endorsing initiatives from the most progressive segment of his party as he approaches the end of his Oval Office term.
“The far-left calls to dismantle the Supreme Court were initially prompted by a candidate desperate to revive a floundering campaign,” stated Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Network.
BIDEN AND HARRIS ADVOCATE FOR SUPREME COURT TERM LIMITS, CODE OF CONDUCT, AND LIMITATIONS ON PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY
President Biden addresses supporters during a campaign event at Pullman Yards in Atlanta on March 9, 2024. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
“Now they will rally behind a candidate who must cater to dark money organizations within the Arabella Advisors structure, like Demand Justice, Fix the Court and various other groups funded by liberal billionaires,” she added.
Arabella Advisors serves as a shadowy financial network that supports various leftist initiatives. Notably, Harris’ communications director, Brian Fallon, is the former leader of Demand Justice, an Arabella-backed organization advocating for court packing.
Fix the Court, another group associated with Arabella, pushes for term limits on Justices.
“[Biden is] attempting to energize his base with this tactic,” remarked GOP strategist Matt Gorman.
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Vice President Harris (Erin Schaff/Pool via Reuters)
“To suggest that Joe Biden would endorse term limits is absurd. The left is frustrated that they lack control over the court, so they’re resorting to legislative maneuvers to seize it,” he stated.
The ideological shift in the Supreme Court occurred when former President Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. While the conservative majority does not always vote uniformly, Democrats have consistently criticized the Republican-appointed majority.
“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris aim to circumvent the Constitution and undermine the Supreme Court because they cannot dominate it,” claimed Severino.
Severino added, “Biden and Harris are waging war against the separation of powers with this declaration.”
The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry for comment.
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, replied, “As President Biden advocates for the rule of law and the integrity of the Supreme Court, he expresses gratitude for the backing these proposals are receiving from bipartisan legal experts, congressional members, and significant portions of the American populace.”
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Bates continued, “Congressional Republicans must now decide: will they uphold conflict-of-interest safeguards on our nation’s highest court and help preserve presidential accountability, or will they align with Joe Biden, former conservative judges, and their constituents to uphold principles that ought to surpass partisanship?”
Significantly, the Supreme Court recently established a new code of conduct following extensive scrutiny from Congress Democrats.
“For the most part, these rules and principles are not new: The Court has long adhered to a common-law equivalent of ethics rules, drawing from a mix of sources, including statutory provisions, codes that apply to other members of the federal judiciary, ethics advisory opinions issued by the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct, and historical practices,” stated a document signed by all the justices.
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“The previous absence of a Code has resulted in a misconception in recent years that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other judges in this country, consider themselves unbound by any ethical guidelines. To rectify this misconception, we are now issuing this Code, which predominantly codifies principles we have long viewed as governing our conduct,” the statement read.
